Hymenoptera sp.

Pliocene

Rita Blanca Formation

Oldham County TX USA,

6mm on 40mm slab.

Insect.

Hymenoptera is the order of insects that includes bees, wasps, and ants, totaling over 150,000 species.  While the group is well known for the high degree of sociality in many species, a large number lead solitary lives.

The hymenopterans date back to the Triassic though the more social forms didn’t appear until the Cretaceous.