Researchers Find A Mysterious And Wingless Wasp Preserved In Amber

It is hard to imagine wasps without wings, but at one time they existed. In fact, wingless wasps existed when dinosaurs were roaming the earth. A wasp-like specimen was found well preserved in amber and it existed one hundred million years ago. The wasp was examined by researchers from all over the world. The fossilized ancient insect has been perplexing many experts because it appears to possess body parts that are similar to the body parts found on a wide variety of modern insect species. It was determined that the wingless wasp does not belong to any established class of insects that currently exist or have ever been discovered within fossil records.

This ancient wasp likely traveled on the ground with enormous dinosaurs walking above it. The wasp likely hunted small grubs that it could successfully sting into submission. The wasp also would have been concerned with finding a proper location to lay eggs. For some reason or another, this particular wasp creature did not exist for long. This wasp must have died quickly from predation, habitat loss and/or disease. This does not surprise researchers, as many of them had a hard time imagining a wingless wasp as being a successful species. Now, one hundred million years later, this mystery wasp is lost in time. No similar insect has ever been found preserved.

A group of researchers from different countries around the world lent their own unique perspectives concerning this ancient insects relation to modern insects. Apparently the debate became heated on occasion, but eventually the researchers worked together to establish a new family of wasps based on the recently discovered specimen’s anatomy. The researchers agreed to name the new family Aptenoperissidae. This new family now only contains one known specimen, but researchers are hoping to add more members as fossils continue to be unearthed.

Do you think that a wasp’s stinger could be utilized to its advantage if it was incapable of flight?