Phylogenomics and the evolution of hemipteroid insects

Hemipteroid insects constitute a major fraction of insect diversity, comprising three orders and over 120,000 described species. We used a comprehensive sample of the diversity of this group involving 193 genome-scale datasets and sequences from 2,395 genes to uncover the evolutionary tree for these insects and provide a timescale for their diversification. Our results indicated that thrips (Thysanoptera) are the closest living relatives of true bugs and allies (Hemiptera) and that these insects started diversifying before the Carboniferous period, over 365 million years ago. The evolutionary tree from this research provides a backbone framework for future studies of this important group of insects.