Lacewing Insect Fossil from Yixian Formation

Liaoning Province in northeast China has remained one of the hottest paleontology study sites on earth the past two decades. Liaoning is perhaps most famous for discoveries of feathered dinosaurs. From feathered dinosaurs to birds to reptiles with color patterns, the fine lake silts of Liaoning's Yixian Formation often preserved the most intricate details of life from more than 100 million years ago. Relatively hard to preserve insects are well represented in the diverse Liaoning biota. Insect order Neuroptera, that includes lacewings, arose during the Permian period, and greatly diversified through the Mesozoic.