Historical biogeography of the spider wasp tribe Aporini (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

We studied the historical biogeography of Aporini (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) to determine its center of origin and the dispersal and/or vicariance events that led to its present distribution. Major genera of tribe are Aporus, Allaporus, Notoplaniceps, Euplaniceps, and Psorthaspis. Members of Aporini are found primarily in the Americas, with only Aporus distributed more broadly from the Americas to Europe and Southern Asia. We sequenced 2482 bp from four nuclear genes for 28 Aporini taxa, and inferred their phylogeny and divergence times with Bayesian relaxed-clock methods and calibrations from pompilid fossils. We subsequently performed a likelihood analysis of geographic range evolution. Results indicate that the ancestor of Aporini existed in the early Miocene (~20 Ma); Euplaniceps and Psorthaspis diverged in the Middle Miocene and Allaporus in the late Miocene. Aporini probably originated in North America and members of Aporus later migrated to Europe in the Miocene. The presence of the group in Central and South America could be explained by gradual dispersal through the Isthmus of Panama. Psorthaspis probably originated in the Nearctic region before the formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the Pliocene. Our results suggest that members of this genus migrated south recently into northern and eastern Colombia. Euplaniceps is found only in South America. Its distribution may be the result of long-distance dispersal or extinction in areas north of Brazil.