150 Xylocopa species and 11 samples of outgroups from the family Apidae Raw sequence reads. Apidae

Large carpenter bees, genus Xylocopa, are a diverse, globally distributed clade that exhibits striking sexual dichromatism in a number of species. This study investigated the biogeographic history and evolution of dichromatism of Xylocopa, and further evaluated the existing subgeneric classification of the genus. We generated a phylogeny for Xylocopa based on target-enrichment and multiplexed sequencing of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) from pinned museum specimens, representing 179 species (+outgroups) sampled across subgenera and biogeography. 150 Xylocopa species and 11 outgroups hereof were newly sequenced and deposited. Insights gained from this study into the biogeographic and diversification history, and the evolution of sexual dichromatism in Xylocopa are discussed in the light of available data from other insect and vertebrate taxa.