Michael S. Engel, FLS, FRES is an American paleontologist and entomologist, notable for contributions to insect evolutionary biology and classification. In connection with his studies he has undertaken field expeditions in Central Asia, Asia Minor, the Levant, Arabia, eastern Africa, the high Arctic, and South and North America, and has published more than 925 papers in scientific journals and over 1000 new living and fossil species. Some of Engel's research images were included in exhibitions on the aesthetic value of scientific imagery.
Anaxyelidae is a family of incense cedar wood wasps in the order Hymenoptera. It contains only one living genus, Syntexis, which has only a single species, native to Western North America. Fossils of the family extend back to the Middle Jurassic, belonging to over a dozen extinct genera, with a particularly high diversity during the Early Cretaceous. Syntexis lay eggs in the sapwood of conifers, preferring recently burnt wood.
The Mymarommatoidea are a very small superfamily of microscopic fairyfly-like parasitic wasps. It contains only a single living family, Mymarommatidae, and three other extinct families known from Cretaceous aged amber. Less than half of all described species are living taxa, but they are known from all parts of the world. Undoubtedly, many more await discovery, as they are easily overlooked and difficult to study due to their extremely small size.
Pelecinidae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea. It contains only one living genus, Pelecinus, with three species known from the Americas. The earliest fossil species are known from the Jurassic, and the group was highly diverse during the Cretaceous. Members of Pelecinus are parasitic on larval beetles, flies, green lacewings, and sawflies.
The Rotoitidae are a very small family of rare, relictual parasitic wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea, known primarily from fossils. Only two extant species are known, each in its own genus, one from New Zealand and one from Chile, and little is known about their biology. Females of the Chilean species, Chiloe micropteron, have their wings reduced to tiny bristles. Most fossil species are known from the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Taimyr amber of Russia and Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Canadian amber, but one species, Baeomorpha liorum is known from the mid Creaceous Burmese amber.
The Stephanidae, sometimes called crown wasps, are a family of parasitoid wasps. They are the only living members of the superfamily Stephanoidea. Stephanidae has at least 345 living species in 11 genera. The family is considered cosmopolitan in distribution, with the highest species concentrations in subtropical and moderate climate zones. Stephanidae also contain four extinct genera described from both compression fossils and inclusions in amber.
The Euparagiinae are a small subfamily of rare wasps in the family Vespidae containing a single extant genus Euparagia. The group had a cosmopolitan distribution in past geological times extending back to the Early Cretaceous, but is now a geographically relict taxon known only from the desert regions of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Serphitidae is a family of microscopic parasitic wasps known from the Cretaceous period.
Pompiloidea is a superfamily that includes spider wasps and velvet ants, among others, in the order Hymenoptera. There are 4 families in Pompiloidea.
2018 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2018, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.
2019 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2019, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.
2017 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2017, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.
Baeomorpha is an extinct genus of rotoitid parasitic wasp, known from the Late Cretaceous of Laurasia. The type species, B. dubitata was named by Charles Thomas Brues for a specimen found in 72 million year old Canadian Amber. The vast majority of species are known from the Russian Taimyr amber, of upper Santonian age but two species are known from the upper Campanian Canadian amber, while one species is known from the lower Cenomanian Burmese amber.
2020 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2020, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.
2015 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2016, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.
2015 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2015, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.
Jouault, Corentin; Rosse-Guillevic, Simon. "A new genus of praeaulacid wasp from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (Myanmar)". Annales de Paléontologie. 109 (1): 102599. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2023.102599.
This paleoentomology list records new fossil insect taxa that were to be described during the year 2021, as well as notes other significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
This paleoentomology list records new fossil insect taxa that are to be described during the year 2022, as well as notes other significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
This paleoentomology list records new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2014, as well as notes other significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
