Melittosphex
Melittosphex is an ancient, wasp-like insect from the Cretaceous period. It is the only genus in the extinct family Melittosphecidae and has a single species, Melittosphex burmensis. Scientists described it in 2006 from a 100-million-year-old fossil found in Burmese amber in the Hukawng Valley, northern Myanmar.
The insect was about 3 millimeters long—roughly one-fifth the size of a modern honeybee. Its name combines Greek roots: melissa meaning “honey bee” and sphex meaning “wasp.”
Melittosphex shows features of both wasps and bees: the hind legs resemble those of flesh-eating wasps, but it also has branched body hairs typical of pollen-collecting bees.
Although it was once thought to be among the oldest bees, later research concluded that Melittosphex is not a bee, and its precise position within the large group Aculeata is uncertain (incertae sedis).
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:56 (CET).