Microraptor's World
Hornet
This fossil, likely that of a primitive hornet, belongs to a group
of stinging insects called Hymenoptera. Insects evolved into the
general types we see today about 250 million years ago, when
dinosaurs and small mammals first appeared. It wasn't until the
Early Cretaceous, however, that groups such as Hymenoptera began to
diversify—a process linked to the evolution of the earliest
flowering plants. When this hornet lived, for instance, its cousin
the honeybee had yet to make its evolutionary appearance.