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Abstract Fungus weevils (family Anthribidae) are morphologically and ecologically diverse, with highly varied feeding habits, mainly mycetophagy but also phytophagy, palynophagy and entomophagy. The phylogeny of the family is virtually unexplored, its evolutionary history obscure; thus, the existing classification is controversial and likely artificial. We generated the first multi‐gene higher‐level phylogeny estimate of Anthribidae using DNA data from 400 nuclear genes obtained via anchored hybrid enrichment from 40 species representing 17 tribes plus generaincertae sedis. As in previous studies, the family Anthribidae was consistently recovered as the sister group of Nemonychidae. We recovered two main clades in Anthribidae as sister groups with strong statistical support, viz. a monophyletic subfamily Urodontinae and the traditionally recognized Anthribinae, which was rendered paraphyletic by the subfamily Choraginae. Paraphyly and polyphyly among tribes of Anthribinae indicate that current tribal concepts—all based on morphology and without phylogenetic analysis—are artificial. Based on our results, we subsume the subfamily Choraginae into Anthribinae and place its six current tribes (Apolectini, Araecerini, Choragini, Cisanthribini, Valenfriesiini and Xenorchestini) in an expanded subfamily Anthribinae. We also transfer three genera currently treated as Anthribinaeincertae sedisto three generally recognized tribes, namelyPleosporiusHolloway to Sintorini,XylanthribusKuschel to Proscoporhinini andAnthribidusFåhraeus to Platystomini. The phylogenetic positions of Urodontinae and Trigonorhinini suggest that phytophagy is the ancestral feeding mode of Anthribidae, with a few taxa of Anthribinae having secondarily evolved plant‐feeding from mycetophagy, the predominant feeding habit of the subfamily. Overall, our results provide the first molecular phylogenetic context for research on Anthribidae and a first step towards reconstructing a natural tribal classification of the Anthribinae. Our study highlights the need for a phylogenetic approach, sampling of type genera and deeper taxon sampling to identify natural tribal‐level groupings. 

The rise of angiosperms to ecological dominance and the breakup of Gondwana during the Mesozoic marked major transitions in the evolutionary history of insect-plant interactions. To elucidate how contemporary trophic interactions were influenced by host plant shifts and palaeogeographical events, we integrated molecular data with information from the fossil record to construct a time tree for ancient phytophagous weevils of the beetle family Belidae. Our analyses indicate that crown-group Belidae originated approximately 138 Ma ago in Gondwana, associated with Pinopsida (conifer) host plants, with larvae likely developing in dead/decaying branches. Belids tracked their host plants as major plate movements occurred during Gondwana’s breakup, surviving on distant, disjunct landmasses. Some belids shifted to Angiospermae and Cycadopsida when and where conifers declined, evolving new trophic interactions, including brood-pollination mutualisms with cycads and associations with achlorophyllous parasitic angiosperms. Extant radiations of belids in the generaRhinotia(Australian region) andProterhinus(Hawaiian Islands) have relatively recent origins. 

Abstract Cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) are insects of an ancient and wingless lineage within Orthoptera that are distributed worldwide except in Antarctica, and each subfamily has a high level of endemicity. Here, we show the comprehensive phylogeny of cave crickets using multi-gene datasets from mitochondrial and nuclear loci, including all extant subfamilies for the first time. We reveal phylogenetic relationships between subfamilies, including the sister relationship between Anoplophilinae and Gammarotettiginae, based on which we suggest new synapomorphies. Through biogeographic analyses based on divergence time estimations and ancestral range reconstruction, we propose novel hypotheses regarding the biogeographic history of cave crickets. We suggest that Gammarotettiginae in California originated from the Asian lineage when Asia and the Americas were connected by the Bering land bridge, and the opening of the western interior seaway affected the division of Ceuthophilinae from Tropidischiinae in North America. We estimate that Rhaphidophoridae originated at 138 Mya throughout Pangea. We further hypothesize that the loss of wings in Rhaphidophoridae could be the result of their adaptation to low temperatures in the Mesozoic era. 

Abstract Background The most species-rich radiation of animal life in the 66 million years following the Cretaceous extinction event is that of schizophoran flies: a third of fly diversity including Drosophila fruit fly model organisms, house flies, forensic blow flies, agricultural pest flies, and many other well and poorly known true flies. Rapid diversification has hindered previous attempts to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among major schizophoran clades. A robust phylogenetic hypothesis for the major lineages containing these 55,000 described species would be critical to understand the processes that contributed to the diversity of these flies. We use protein encoding sequence data from transcriptomes, including 3145 genes from 70 species, representing all superfamilies, to improve the resolution of this previously intractable phylogenetic challenge. Results Our results support a paraphyletic acalyptrate grade including a monophyletic Calyptratae and the monophyly of half of the acalyptrate superfamilies. The primary branching framework of Schizophora is well supported for the first time, revealing the primarily parasitic Pipunculidae and Sciomyzoidea stat. rev. as successive sister groups to the remaining Schizophora. Ephydroidea, Drosophila ’s superfamily, is the sister group of Calyptratae. Sphaeroceroidea has modest support as the sister to all non-sciomyzoid Schizophora. We define two novel lineages corroborated by morphological traits, the ‘Modified Oviscapt Clade’ containing Tephritoidea, Nerioidea, and other families, and the ‘Cleft Pedicel Clade’ containing Calyptratae, Ephydroidea, and other families. Support values remain low among a challenging subset of lineages, including Diopsidae. The placement of these families remained uncertain in both concatenated maximum likelihood and multispecies coalescent approaches. Rogue taxon removal was effective in increasing support values compared with strategies that maximise gene coverage or minimise missing data. Conclusions Dividing most acalyptrate fly groups into four major lineages is supported consistently across analyses. Understanding the fundamental branching patterns of schizophoran flies provides a foundation for future comparative research on the genetics, ecology, and biocontrol. 

Abstract Acoustic communication is enabled by the evolution of specialised hearing and sound producing organs. In this study, we performed a large-scale macroevolutionary study to understand how both hearing and sound production evolved and affected diversification in the insect order Orthoptera, which includes many familiar singing insects, such as crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers. Using phylogenomic data, we firmly establish phylogenetic relationships among the major lineages and divergence time estimates within Orthoptera, as well as the lineage-specific and dynamic patterns of evolution for hearing and sound producing organs. In the suborder Ensifera, we infer that forewing-based stridulation and tibial tympanal ears co-evolved, but in the suborder Caelifera, abdominal tympanal ears first evolved in a non-sexual context, and later co-opted for sexual signalling when sound producing organs evolved. However, we find little evidence that the evolution of hearing and sound producing organs increased diversification rates in those lineages with known acoustic communication.