A supermatrix phylogeny of the world's bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila).

The increasing availability of large molecular phylogenies has provided new opportunities to study the evolution of species traits, their origins and diversification, and biogeography; yet there are limited attempts to synthesise existing phylogenetic information for major insect groups. Bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) are a large group of insect pollinators that have a worldwide distribution, and a wide variation in ecology, morphology, and life-history traits, including sociality. For these reasons, as well as their major economic importance as pollinators, numerous molecular phylogenetic studies of family and genus-level relationships have been published, providing an opportunity to assemble a bee 'tree-of-life'.

Dazzled by shine: gloss as an antipredator strategy in fast moving prey.

Previous studies on stationary prey have found mixed results for the role of a glossy appearance in predator avoidance-some have found that glossiness can act as warning coloration or improve camouflage, whereas others detected no survival benefit. An alternative untested hypothesis is that glossiness could provide protection in the form of dynamic dazzle. Fast moving animals that are glossy produce flashes of light that increase in frequency at higher speeds, which could make it harder for predators to track and accurately locate prey.

Updating the knowledge of the flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Chile: Illustrated catalog, extinction risk and biological notes.

Syrphidae, more commonly known as flower flies, are considered one of the most important Diptera families worldwide because of their critical role in pollination, biological control and decomposition of organic matter. The study of these flies in Chile has stagnated due to a lack of local experts as well as the absence of an updated catalog of species. This study is an attempt to remedy the latter of these issues by providing an illustrated and updated catalog to the Syrphidae of Chile.

Native bees of high Andes of Central Chile (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): biodiversity, phenology and the description of a new species of Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Xeromelissinae).

High-altitude ecosystems are found in mountain chains and plateaus worldwide. These areas tend to be underrepresented in insect biodiversity assessments because of the challenges related to systematic survey at these elevations, such as extreme climatic and geographic conditions. Nonetheless, high-altitude ecosystems are of paramount importance because they have been seen to be species pumps for other geographic areas, such as adjacent locations, functioning as buffers for population declines.

Along urbanization sprawl, exotic plants distort native bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) assemblages in high elevation Andes ecosystem.

Native bees contribute a considerable portion of pollination services for endemic as well as introduced plant species. Their decline has been attributed to several human-derived influences including global warming as well as the reduction, alteration, and loss of bees' habitat. With human expansion comes along the introduction of exotic plant species with negative impacts over native ecosystems.

Genome sequencing and analysis of the first complete genome of Lactobacillus kunkeei strain MP2, an Apis mellifera gut isolate.

Background. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most important pollinator in agriculture worldwide. However, the number of honey bees has fallen significantly since 2006, becoming a huge ecological problem nowadays.

Draft Genome of Chilean Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Gut Strain Lactobacillus kunkeei MP2.

Here, we report the first draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus kunkeei strain MP2, isolated from a Chilean honeybee gut. The sequenced genome has a total size of 1.58 Mb distributed into 44 contigs and 1,356 protein-coding sequences.