Comprehensive phylogenomic analyses re-write the evolution of parasitism within cynipoid wasps.
Bonnie B BlaimerDietrich GotzekSeán G BradyMatthew L BuffingtonPublished in: BMC evolutionary biology (2020)
Our study has significant impact on understanding cynipoid evolution and highlights the importance of adequate outgroup sampling. We discuss the evolutionary timescale of the superfamily in relation to their insect hosts and host plants, and outline how phytophagous galling behavior may have evolved from entomophagous, parasitoid cynipoids. Our study has established the framework for further physiological and comparative genomic work between gall-making, inquiline and parasitoid lineages, which could also have significant implications for the evolution of diverse life histories in other Hymenoptera.