Undescribed Wasp Split Pair | Green River Formation | Wyoming

Undescribed Wasp sp.
Eocene (51.98 Million Years Ago)
Green River Formation, Wyoming, USA
In Stone Fossils Private Quarry

Specimen approx. size: 1"

Matrix approx. sizes: 5" x 2.5" & 5" x 3.5"

This is the part and counterpart of an unknown variety of wasp. Wasps of the Green River Formation remain largely unstudied, so the identifications of many specimens are inconclusive. 

Wasps are a diverse group, estimated at well over a hundred thousand described species, and a great many more still undescribed. Wasps first appeared in the fossil record in the Jurassic and diversified into many of the extant superfamilies by the Cretaceous.

Wasps are any member of a group of insects in the Order Hymenoptera, Suborder Apocrita. Most are winged, but not all. Some members can also sting. In stinging species, only the females are provided with a formidable sting. This involves use of a modified ovipositor (egg-laying structure) for piercing, and venom-producing glands. Wasps generally are predatory and/or parasitic and have stingers that can be easily removed from their victims. Some adult wasps may feed on flower nectar, however their larvae are carnivorous.

Wasps are subdivided into two groups: social wasps and solitary wasps. Social wasps live in colonies while solitary wasps live alone. Social wasps are contained within the family Vespidae (superfamily Vespoidea) and include the most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets. They live together in a nest with one or more reproductive queens, drones (males), and sterile females called workers.

Some wasps in the family Vespidae are solitary. In fact, the vast majority of wasp species are solitary. Solitary wasps spend the majority of their time preparing their nests and foraging for food for their young. Many solitary wasp species are parasitoidal, meaning they lay their eggs on or inside of a host, such as an insect or spider. Some solitary wasps nest in small groups alongside others, but each wasp is responsible for its own offspring. There is no division of labor or behavioral patterns adopted by eusocial species.