The evolution of hymenopteran wings: the importance of size

The allometric relationships between body size and several aspects of wing morphology in the insect order Hymenoptera were investigated using multivariate morphometric techniques. The study focused primarily on wing allometry in five monophyletic genera of bees ( Perdila, Halictus, Ceratina, Trigona and Apis ), but the patterns of size-related evolutionary change found within each of these genera are also found to exist in numerous other hymenopteran taxa. Increased body size in hymenopteran lineages is correlated with the following changes in wing morphology: (1) decreased relative stigma area, (2) distal extension of wing vein elements, (3) increased aspect ratio and (4) proximal shift in the centroid of wing area. The reverse is true for decreased size. The widespread allometric trends most likely result from adaptive change in wing morphology due to size-related changes in the physical properties impinging on the organism–principally the quality and magnitude of drag. The fact that similar wing morphologies among distantly related species can result from similarity in body size has important implications for the study of hymenopteran phylogeny, especially at lower taxonomic levels and when a high proportion of wing characters are employed.