Bee flowers drive macroevolutionary diversification in long-horned bees.

ABSTRACT: The role of plant-pollinator interactions in the rapid radiation of the angiosperms have long fascinated evolutionary biologists. Studies have brought evidence for pollinator-driven diversification of various plant lineages, particularly plants with specialized flowers and concealed rewards. By contrast, little is known about how this crucial interaction has shaped macroevolutionary patterns of floral visitors. In particular, there is currently no empirical evidence that floral host association has increased diversification in bees, the most prominent group of floral visitors that essentially rely on angiosperm pollen. In this study, we examine how floral host preference influenced diversification in eucerine bees (Apidae, Eucerini), which exhibit large variations in their floral associati

SUBMITTER: Dorchin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8515878 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature