insect

Ancient bees turned tooth sockets into tiny nurseries 20,000 years ago

bone tooth nest fossil bird discovery insect mammals

A stunning fossil discovery shows that ancient bees used the empty tooth sockets of mammal bones as tiny nests after owls scattered the bones across a cave floor 20,000 years ago. It's the first known evidence of bees nesting inside animal bones, revealing an astonishingly creative survival strategy.

05/07/2026 sciencedaily

New Marsupial Lineage Emerges from Australian Fossils

Australia Miocene fossil insect mammals new species

Paleontologists have described a new genus and three new species of small, insect-eating marsupials from the Early Miocene deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in northwestern Queensland, one of Australia’s richest fossil sites. The post New Marsupial Lineage Emerges from Australian Fossils appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

15/06/2026 sci-news

Millipedes beat vertebrates to land by 80 million years

defense Paleozoic evolution insect study

Millipedes may have been crawling across Earth's landscapes nearly 460 million years ago, long before vertebrates ventured onto land. A new study finally completes their evolutionary family tree, revealing surprising clues about these ancient ecosystem engineers and their early chemical defenses.

14/06/2026 sciencedaily-paleo

Goethe never knew this 40-million-year-old ant was hidden in his collection

nest fossil insect

Scientists examining amber from Goethe’s personal collection discovered three hidden fossil insects, including an extinct ant preserved in extraordinary detail. Advanced 3D imaging allowed researchers to see not only the ant’s outer features but also structures inside its body. The findings offer new clues about the species’ biology and suggest it likely built large nests in trees.

04/06/2026 sciencedaily-paleo