297 - Pollen Wasps: A Parallel Path to Pollination | PolliNation

In this episode of Pollination, host Dr. Andony Melathopoulos talks with Dr. Elizabeth Murray ( Mt. James Entomological Collection, Washington State University) about pollen wasps (Masarinae) and how they represent a rare, parallel shift to bees from carnivory to provisioning young with pollen. The conversation covers pollen wasp origins around 125 million years ago alongside bees, likely in arid Western Gondwana as angiosperms rose, their global but dry-region-biased distribution, low species diversity (  00:00 Gondwana Origins Teaser 00:58 Podcast Intro And Guest 02:22 Inside The Entomology Collection 03:49 Why Collections Matter 05:27 Growing The Collection 06:52 What Are Pollen Wasps 09:04 Angiosperms And Shared Origins 11:00 Reverting Back To Carnivory 12:40 Where They Live And Diversity 15:49 Life History Compared To Bees 18:07 How They Carry And Pollinate 19:21 Nests And Plant Hosts 23:31 Research And Conservation Questions