A fossil wasp (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Vespula? hassiaca) from the Eocene of Messel

Abstract

A new fossil wasp species, Vespula? hassiaca sp. nov., is described from the Eocene UNESCO world heritage site Grube Messel in Germany. This species can be assigned definitely to the eusocial Vespinae, and it probably belongs to the extant genus Vespula. Besides classical morphology, as an additional method for investigation of the fossil, geometric morphometric analysis of the front wing shapes of extant and fossil Vespinae was used. The fossil record of wasps, especially of the social wasps belonging to the subgroup Vespinae, is sparse. Until now, there was no fossil of the extant genus Vespula (Vespinae, Vespidae) recorded.