Phylogenomics resolves evolutionary relationships among ants, bees, and wasps

Eusocial behavior has arisen in few animal groups, most notably in the aculeate Hymenoptera, a clade comprising ants, bees, and stinging wasps. Phylogeny is crucial to understanding the evolution of the salient features of these insects, including eusociality. Yet the phylogenetic relationships among the major lineages of aculeate Hymenoptera remain contentious. We address this problem here by generating and analyzing genomic data for a representative series of taxa. We obtain a single well-resolved and strongly supported tree, robust to multiple methods of phylogenetic inference. Apoidea (spheciform wasps and bees) and ants are sister groups, a novel finding that contradicts earlier views that ants are closer to ectoparasitoid wasps. Vespid wasps (paper wasps, yellow jackets, and relatives) are sister to all other aculeates except chrysidoids. Thus, all eusocial species of Hymenoptera are contained within two major groups, characterized by transport of larval provisions and nest constr...

真社会性行为（Eusocial behavior）仅在少数动物类群中演化产生，其中最为典型的类群为膜翅目细腰亚目（aculeate Hymenoptera），该演化支包含蚂蚁、蜜蜂与蛰蜂类群。系统发育（Phylogeny）研究对于解析这类昆虫包括真社会性在内的核心特征演化至关重要。然而膜翅目细腰亚目各大演化支间的系统发育关系迄今仍存在争议。本研究通过获取并分析一系列代表性类群的基因组数据，对该问题展开探究。最终得到一棵分辨率优良、支持度极高的系统发育树，该结果对多种系统发育推断方法均表现出稳健性。蜜蜂总科（Apoidea，涵盖泥蜂类与蜜蜂）与蚂蚁互为姐妹群，这一全新发现推翻了此前认为蚂蚁与外寄生蜂类亲缘关系更近的观点。蜾蠃蜂科类群（Vespid wasps，包括纸巢蜂、黄胡蜂及其近缘类群）是除褶翅小蜂总科（chrysidoids）外所有其他细腰亚目类群的姐妹群。综上，所有膜翅目真社会性物种均隶属于两大主要类群，其特征为携运幼虫食物及筑巢……