Global bee bioregions mirror those of other taxa despite a uniquely bimodal latitudinal diversity gradient.

Bees show 21 globally nested bioregions across at least six realms, closely matching other taxa despite a uniquely bimodal latitudinal diversity gradient.

• Why it matters: Prior work found strong bioregional congruence across taxa, but shared latitudinal diversity gradients leave open whether these patterns are mechanistically linked or independent.
• What they did: Using range estimates for 3,370 bee species and a phylogenetic beta-diversity framework, the study delineated bee bioregions and compared them with bioregional patterns from other groups.
• The result: The close alignment supports a decoupling view: bioregionalization reflects historical dispersal and evolutionary history, while species richness reflects local diversification, extinction, and environmental filtering.

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