Data from: Key innovations and the diversification of Hymenoptera

The order Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, sawflies, and bees) represents one of
the most diverse animal lineages, but whether specific key innovations
have contributed to its diversification is still unknown. We assembled the
largest time-calibrated phylogeny of Hymenoptera to date and investigated
the origin and possible correlation of particular morphological and
behavioral innovations with diversification in the order: the wasp waist
of Apocrita; the stinger of Aculeata; parasitoidism, a specialized form of
carnivory; and secondary phytophagy, a reversal to plant-feeding. Here, we
show that parasitoidism has been the dominant strategy since the Late
Triassic in Hymenoptera but was not an immediate driver of
diversification. Instead, transitions to secondary phytophagy (from
parasitoidism) had a major influence on diversification rate in
Hymenoptera. Support for the stinger and the wasp waist as key innovations
remains equivocal, but these traits may have laid the anatomical and
behavioral foundations for adaptations more directly associated with
diversification.