Mountains act as museums and cradles for hemipteran insects in China: Evidence from patterns of richness and phylogenetic structure

Abstract Aim This study aims to test whether the diversity centres of hemipteran insects are mainly concentrated in mountains and whether spatial variation exists in the relationship between species richness and environmental factors, and investigate the spatio‐temporal divergence patterns of hemipteran insects in China to infer underlying mechanisms and the role of different regions as museums and/or cradles. Location China. Time period Present day. Major taxa studied Hemipteran insects. Methods A comprehensive species distribution dataset consisting of 7,822 hemipteran species was compiled, and a dated molecular phylogeny of hemipteran insects was reconstructed. We analysed the richness and spatio‐temporal divergence patterns of hemipteran insects based on grid cells with a resolution of 1° × 1°. The relative effects of environmental factors on species richness were analysed by general linear models, multivariate spatial autoregressive models and a spatial random forest model. Phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic structure, and mean divergence times were calculated and evaluated. Results The mountains of central to southern China have the highest hemipteran diversity. Multiple environmental factors together determine the diversity patterns, but relative effects of different factors vary across China's terrain. Central and southern China primarily preserve older lineages and present phylogenetic overdispersion, while northern China shows more recent divergence and phylogenetic clustering. The eastern Himalayas and Hengduan Mountains have high diversity of both ancient and young lineages. Main conclusions The diversity patterns of hemipteran insects in China obviously tend to concentrate in mountains and result from combined effects of multiple environmental factors, but the effects vary in different areas. The mountains of central and southern China act as museums, and the mountains of northern China represent evolutionary cradles for Hemiptera diversity, while the eastern Himalayas and Hengduan Mountains are probably being both cradles and museums. Our results identify areas of high richness and phylogenetic diversity, which provide a foundation for insect conservation in China.