Researchers report evolutionary relationships among three insect orders collectively known as the hemipteroid insects, which comprise around 10% of known insect diversity and contain bark lice, parasitic lice, thrips, and true bugs, among others; the study suggests that the orders began diversifying around the Carboniferous period, more than 365 million years ago, and that the placement of the order Psocodea, which includes lice, in the evolutionary tree remains as yet unresolved.
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Article #18-15820: "Phylogenomics and the evolution of hemipteroid insects," by Kevin P. Johnson et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Kevin P. Johnson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL; tel: 217-244-9267; e-mail: kpjohnso@illinois.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences