Investigating the molecular clock, the ancestral character states, and the correlated evolution of discrete binary traits on phylogenetic trees, we studied the evolutionary history of the family Anthocoreidae, using ~3000bp of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and nuclear 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA genes for 44 taxa. The BEAST and BayesTraits were used to examine the divergence times, cladogenesis, and historical habitat patterns. The correlated evolution of discrete characters was tested by reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo. Our results suggest that (i) the ancestral habitat patterns of dead plants may have served as an important rule for the stem group of anthocorids; (ii) the radiation of angiosperms and the prey insect in the mid-Cretaceous might have provided anthocorids with more habitat options; and (iii) the transition of habitats played an important role for the change of ovipositor patterns in the family Anthocoreidae.

• Sunghoon Jung(Laboratory of Insect Biosystematics, Division of Entomology, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)
• Hyojoong Kim(Department of Life Sciences and Division of EcoScience, Ewha University)
• Kazutaka Yamada(Tokushima Prefectural Museum, Bunka-no-Mori Park, Hachiman-chô)
• Seunghwan Lee(Laboratory of Insect Biosystematics, Division of Entomology, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University)