Fossil Insects: Diversity and Evolutionary History

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Systematics, Phylogeny and Evolution".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1553

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Interests: fossil insects; amber research; Mesozoic insects
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Interests: palaeontology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding insect evolution is vital for deciphering the early development of terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, given that insects are the most diverse and ecologically significant group of animals. Their evolutionary history sheds light on ecological interactions, adaptation mechanisms, and the resilience of life during major geological events. In recent decades, fossil insect research has experienced a remarkable resurgence, spurred by the discovery of exceptional entomofaunas and advances in phylogenomics that enable robust reconstruction of the insect Tree of Life. These findings provide unparalleled insights into the patterns and timescales of evolution within hexapods, the most diverse animal group.

This Special Issue aims to present systematic research that deepens our understanding of insect evolution through an integrative approach. By combining fossil evidence with cutting-edge phylogenomic techniques, the contributions will explore key evolutionary transitions, morphological innovations, and ecological adaptations that have shaped insect diversity. The issue will cover a wide range of topics, including the origins of major insect lineages, the impact of mass extinctions on insect biodiversity, and the co-evolutionary dynamics between insects and their environments. Through these studies, we hope to provide a comprehensive view of how insects have evolved over hundreds of millions of years, offering new perspectives on their role in shaping terrestrial ecosystems.

Potential topics include (but are not limited to):

  • Insect taxa from deposits with exceptional preservation, analysed within broader phylogenetic contexts.
  • Phylogenetic studies that integrate fossil insects alongside their extant relatives.
  • Macroevolutionary studies examining the fossil record of hexapods.
  • Paleontological methods that facilitate the study of exceptionally preserved specimens in fossil resins.
  • Taphonomic research that investigates biases and controls affecting the exceptional preservation of terrestrial arthropods.

We encourage submissions that delve into these themes and contribute to our understanding of insect evolution. We look forward to your contributions to this exciting field of research!

Prof. Dr. Diying Huang
Prof. Dr. Chenyang Cai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • amber
  • palaeodiversity
  • phylogeny
  • Mesozoic
  • Cenozoic
  • palaeoentomology
  • terrestrial ecosystems
  • radiation
  • insect-plant association

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 39485 KiB  
Article
Subfossil Insects of the Kebezen Site (Altai Mountains): New Data on the Last Deglaciation Environment
by Anna A. Gurina, Natalia I. Agrikolyanskaya, Roman Yu. Dudko, Yuri E. Mikhailov, Alexander A. Prokin, Sergei V. Reshetnikov, Alexey S. Sazhnev, Alexey Yu. Solodovnikov, Evgenii V. Zinovyev and Andrei A. Legalov
Insects 2025, 16(3), 321; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16030321 - 19 Mar 2025
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Abstract
This paper focuses on insect remains found at the Kebezen site (51.93600° N, 87.09665° E) on the Turachak stream, Altai Republic, Russia, in layers ranging in age from 20.1 to 19.3 cal ky BP, corresponding to the onset of the last deglaciation. Coleoptera, [...] Read more.
This paper focuses on insect remains found at the Kebezen site (51.93600° N, 87.09665° E) on the Turachak stream, Altai Republic, Russia, in layers ranging in age from 20.1 to 19.3 cal ky BP, corresponding to the onset of the last deglaciation. Coleoptera, represented by 105 species from 21 families, predominate in the sediments, with the families Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Chrysomelidae and Scolytidae being the most numerous. The insect assemblage of Kebezen contrasts sharply with the Late Pleistocene entomofauna of the West Siberian Plain, but it is similar with the assemblages of the geographically close Lebed site (Oldest and Older Dryas). Also, it corresponds well with the modern middle-altitude entomofauna of the mountains of north-eastern Altai. Based on such entomological data, boreal forests with a predominance of Picea and alpine meadows, as well as a cold and humid climate, were reconstructed for the Kebezen site. Changes in the ecological composition of beetles were traced during sedimentation: the most complete spectrum of the basal layer was replaced by a complex with a significant predominance of meadow and water-edge species, after which the proportions of shrub species, bryophilous species, and forest species consistently increased. Such changes correspond to the course of primary succession initiated by a catastrophic factor such as a megaflood. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fossil Insects: Diversity and Evolutionary History)
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18 pages, 9886 KiB  
Article
New Wasps of Maimetshidae (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronoidea) from the Mid-Cretaceous Myanmar Amber
by Longfeng Li, Dmitry S. Kopylov, Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn, Jingtao Yang, Chungkun Shih and Dong Ren
Insects 2025, 16(3), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16030237 - 23 Feb 2025
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Abstract
One new genus and five new species of the extinct family Maimetshidae from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber are described based on five well-preserved specimens as follows: Maimetshasia nova Li, Kopylov and Rasnitsyn, sp. nov.; Maimetshasia engeli Li, Kopylov and Rasnitsyn, sp. nov.; Guyotemaimetsha perrichoti [...] Read more.
One new genus and five new species of the extinct family Maimetshidae from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber are described based on five well-preserved specimens as follows: Maimetshasia nova Li, Kopylov and Rasnitsyn, sp. nov.; Maimetshasia engeli Li, Kopylov and Rasnitsyn, sp. nov.; Guyotemaimetsha perrichoti Li, Kopylov and Rasnitsyn, sp. nov.; Guyotemaimetsha ortegablancoi Li, Kopylov and Rasnitsyn, sp. nov.; and Crucimaimetsha nigra Li, Kopylov and Rasnitsyn, sp. nov. A new generic synonymy is proposed: Turgonalus Rasnitsyn, 1990 (=Turgonaliscus Engel, 2016, syn. nov. and = Ahiromaimetsha Perrichot, Azar, Nel and Engel, 2011, syn. nov.); Guyotemaimetsha Perrichot, Nel and Néraudeau, 2004 (=Burmaimetsha Perrichot, 2013, syn. nov.); Afrapia, Rasnitsyn and Brothers, 2009 (=Afromaimetsha, Rasnitsyn and Brothers, 2009, syn. nov.); and Iberomaimetsha nihtmara Ortega-Blanco, Delclòs and Engel, 2011 are transferred to Afrapia, Rasnitsyn and Brothers, 2009. This results in the following new combinations: Turgonalus cooperi, Rasnitsyn and Jarzembowski, 1998, comb. resurr.; Turgonalus najlae (Perrichot, Azar, Nel & Engel, 2011), comb. nov; Afrapia robusta (Rasnitsyn & Brothers, 2009), comb. nov; and Afrapia nihtmara (Ortega-Blanco, Delclòs & Engel, 2011), comb. nov. The occurrence of various genera of Maimetshidae in amber and compression fossil and the morphological differences of the forewings in all the fossil species are provided, which highlights a high level of genus-level diversity among Mesozoic maimetshids. The key to genera was updated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fossil Insects: Diversity and Evolutionary History)
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