@article{kirchner_bertone_blaimer_youngsteadt_2023, title={COLONY STRUCTURE AND REDESCRIPTION OF MALES IN THE RARELY COLLECTED ARBOREAL ANT, <i>APHAENOGASTER</i> <i>MARIAE</i> FOREL (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE)}, volume={125}, ISSN={["0013-8797"]}, DOI={10.4289/0013-8797.125.1.77}, abstractNote={Abstract. Aphaenogaster mariae Forel is a rarely encountered North American arboreal ant that has eluded collectors for decades. Here, we provide the first formal documentation of a whole colony collection of the species found seventeen meters high in the canopy of the North Carolina Piedmont. We discovered a mature colony with more than 1000 individuals, including workers, alate reproductives, immatures, and intercastes. We present the first images of the males, larvae, pupae, and intercaste workers, redescribe the male, and provide natural history insights and colony demographics for this elusive species. Our collections suggest that A. mariae occurs at low densities consistent with its putative socially parasitic life history. Although much remains to be learned about this species, our results expand knowledge of its life history and facilitate future nest discovery and identification.}, number={1}, journal={PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON}, author={Kirchner, Michelle and Bertone, Matthew and Blaimer, Bonnie B. and Youngsteadt, Elsa}, year={2023}, month={Jan}, pages={77–88} }
 @article{camacho_loss_fisher_blaimer_2021, title={Spatial phylogenomics of acrobat ants in Madagascar-Mountains function as cradles for recent diversity and endemism}, volume={5}, ISSN={["1365-2699"]}, DOI={10.1111/jbi.14107}, abstractNote={Abstract}, journal={JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY}, author={Camacho, Gabriela P. and Loss, Ana Carolina and Fisher, Brian L. and Blaimer, Bonnie B.}, year={2021}, month={May} }
 @article{rasplus_blaimer_brady_burks_delvare_fisher_gates_gauthier_gumovsky_hansson_et al._2020, title={A first phylogenomic hypothesis for Eulophidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea)}, volume={54}, ISSN={["1464-5262"]}, DOI={10.1080/00222933.2020.1762941}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT Eulophidae is a hyper-diverse family of chalcidoid wasps with 324 genera, about 5300 described species and probably thousands of others to be described. Until now, the absence of unequivocal morphological apomorphies and the low resolution provided by the handful of Sanger sequenced genes have hampered the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships within the family. Here, we used ultra-conserved elements and their flanking regions to resolve relationships among 84 species of eulophids included in 63 genera representing all subfamilies and most tribes, plus 15 outgroups. Our analyses recover all traditional Eulophidae subfamilies and tribes with high support and globally agree with the traditional classification of the family. Our results confirm that Eulophinae + Tetrastichinae is the sister group of (Opheliminae + Entiinae) + Entedoninae. At the generic level, our analyses provide high support for intergeneric relationships for which morphology and Sanger markers previously failed to provide resolution. Our results also confirm that Trisecodes does not group with Eulophidae and may not belong to this family; however, its correct classification still awaits a large-scale phylogenomic hypothesis for Chalcidoidea. This work opens new avenues towards a better understanding of the evolutionary history, biogeography and evolution of host–parasitoid associations in this hyper-diverse family of chalcidoid wasps.}, number={9-12}, journal={JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY}, author={Rasplus, Jean-Yves and Blaimer, Bonnie B. and Brady, Sean G. and Burks, Roger A. and Delvare, Gerard and Fisher, Nicole and Gates, Michael and Gauthier, Nathalie and Gumovsky, Alex V and Hansson, Christer and et al.}, year={2020}, month={Mar}, pages={597–609} }
 @article{blaimer_gotzek_brady_buffington_2020, title={Comprehensive phylogenomic analyses re-write the evolution of parasitism within cynipoid wasps}, volume={20}, ISSN={["1471-2148"]}, DOI={10.1186/s12862-020-01716-2}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY}, author={Blaimer, Bonnie B. and Gotzek, Dietrich and Brady, Sean G. and Buffington, Matthew L.}, year={2020}, month={Nov} }
 @article{bossert_murray_almeida_brady_blaimer_danforth_2019, title={Combining transcriptomes and ultraconserved elements to illuminate the phylogeny of Apidae}, volume={130}, ISSN={["1095-9513"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.012}, abstractNote={Two increasingly popular approaches to reconstruct the Tree of Life involve whole transcriptome sequencing and the target capture of ultraconserved elements (UCEs). Both methods can be used to generate large, multigene datasets for analysis of phylogenetic relationships in non-model organisms. While targeted exon sequencing across divergent lineages is now a standard method, it is still not clear if UCE data can be readily combined with published transcriptomes. In this study, we evaluate the combination of UCEs and transcriptomes in a single analysis using genome-, transcriptome-, and UCE data for 79 bees in the largest and most biologically diverse bee family, Apidae. Using existing tools, we first developed a workflow to assemble phylogenomic data from different sources and produced two large nucleotide matrices of combined data. We then reconstructed the phylogeny of the Apidae using concatenation- and coalescent-based methods, and critically evaluated the resulting phylogenies in the context of previously published genetic, genomic, and morphological data sets. Our estimated phylogenetic trees are robustly supported and largely congruent with previous molecular hypotheses, from deep nodes to shallow species-level phylogenies. Moreover, the combined approach allows us to resolve controversial nodes of the apid Tree of Life, by clarifying the relationships among the genera of orchid bees (Euglossini) and the monophyly of the Centridini. Additionally, we present novel phylogenetic evidence supporting the monophyly of the diverse clade of cleptoparasitic Apidae and the placement of two enigmatic, oil-collecting genera (Ctenoplectra and Tetrapedia). Lastly, we propose a revised classification of the family Apidae that reflects our improved understanding of apid higher-level relationships.}, journal={MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION}, author={Bossert, Silas and Murray, Elizabeth A. and Almeida, Eduardo A. B. and Brady, Sean G. and Blaimer, Bonnie B. and Danforth, Bryan N.}, year={2019}, month={Jan}, pages={121–131} }
 @article{blaimer_mawdsley_brady_2018, title={Multiple origins of sexual dichromatism and aposematism within large carpenter bees}, volume={72}, ISSN={["1558-5646"]}, DOI={10.1111/evo.13558}, abstractNote={The evolution of reversed sexual dichromatism and aposematic coloration has long been of interest to both theoreticians and empiricists. Yet despite the potential connections between these phenomena, they have seldom been jointly studied. Large carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa) are a promising group for such comparative investigations as they are a diverse clade in which both aposematism and reversed sexual dichromatism can occur either together or separately. We investigated the evolutionary history of dichromatism and aposematism and a potential correlation of these traits with diversification rates within Xylocopa, using a newly generated phylogeny for 179 Xylocopa species based on ultraconserved elements (UCEs). A monochromatic, inconspicuous ancestor is indicated for the genus, with subsequent convergent evolution of sexual dichromatism and aposematism in multiple lineages. Aposematism is found to covary with reversed sexual dichromatism in many species; however, reversed dichromatism also evolved in non‐aposematic species. Bayesian Analysis of Macroevolutionary Models (BAMM) did not show increased diversification in any specific clade in Xylocopa, whereas support from Hidden State Speciation and Extinction (HiSSE) models remained inconclusive regarding an association of increased diversification rates with dichromatism or aposematism. We discuss the evolution of color patterns and diversification in Xylocopa by considering potential drivers of dichromatism and aposematism.}, number={9}, journal={EVOLUTION}, author={Blaimer, Bonnie B. and Mawdsley, Jonathan R. and Brady, Sean G.}, year={2018}, month={Sep}, pages={1874–1889} }
 @article{blaimer_ward_schultz_fisher_brady_2018, title={Paleotropical Diversification Dominates the Evolution of the Hyperdiverse Ant Tribe Crematogastrini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)}, volume={2}, ISSN={["2399-3421"]}, DOI={10.1093/isd/ixy013}, abstractNote={Abstract Levels of diversity vary strikingly among different phylogenetic lineages of ants. Rapid radiations in early ant evolution have often proven difficult to resolve with traditional Sanger-sequencing data sets of modest size. We provide a phylogenomic perspective on the evolution of the hyperdiverse ant tribe Crematogastrini by analyzing sequence data for nearly 1,800 ultraconserved element (UCE) loci from 153 species comprising 56 genera. We reconstruct a next-to-complete genus-level phylogeny using concatenated maximum likelihood and species-tree approaches, estimate divergence dates and diversification rates for the tribe, and investigate the evolution of nest sites. Our results show 10 well-supported major clades which we define as the Cataulacus, Carebara, Vollenhovia, Podomyrma, Crematogaster, Mayriella, Lordomyrma, Myrmecina, Paratopula, and Formicoxenus genus-groups. These lineages are estimated to have arisen from a Paleotropical ancestor (crown-group age ∼75 Ma) over a relatively short time interval (50–70 Ma).The Afrotropical and especially the Indomalayan regions appear to have played a key role in the early diversification history of the tribe. Several shifts in diversification rates were found to be related to the evolution of large, widespread genera; however, we were unable to confidently associate these shifts with evolutionary innovations or events. Arboreal habitats have been successfully colonized by only few clades within Crematogastrini from ground-nesting ancestors, with no reversals supported. Our genus-level phylogeny for Crematogastrini provides insights into the diversification and evolution of one of the most diverse clades of ants, and our division of the tribe into well-supported genus-group lineages sets the stage for more detailed species-level investigations.}, number={5}, journal={INSECT SYSTEMATICS AND DIVERSITY}, author={Blaimer, Bonnie B. and Ward, Philip S. and Schultz, Ted R. and Fisher, Brian L. and Brady, Sean G.}, year={2018}, month={Sep} }