The insect inclusion is identified as a true fly (Order Diptera), likely belonging to the mosquito/gnat lineage.
A stunning natural Burmese amber specimen (Burmite) from the Hukawng Valley, Myanmar, approximately 99 million years old, containing a fully preserved insect inclusion. The insect is clearly visible from multiple angles. The inclusion appears to be an ancient mosquito-like fly, with delicate membranous wings, spindly legs, and a well-defined head captured in remarkable detail.
The amber’s clarity and rich honey-orange color provide an exquisite window into the Cretaceous, where even minute features like the insect’s segmented body and filiform antennae can be observed. This level of preservation is typical of Burmese amber, which is renowned for its rich assortment of perfectly preserved insects.
This determination is based on the presence of a single functional pair of wings (with the second pair reduced to halteres, a unique trait of Diptera). Researchers at the Kachin Amber Research Institute believes the specimen’s slender body form and long delicate legs are characteristics of a nematoceran fly.
In particular, the insect closely resembles a small mosquito (Family Culicidae) or a related midge, given its visible wing shape and elongated limbs. Even without a clearly discernible proboscis, the overall morphology – elongated appendages, narrow segmented body, and wing venation – supports placement in the mosquito/fly group of Diptera rather than beetles, wasps, or other insect orders.
Several key morphological features of the inclusion support its identification and provide insight into its biology:
Wings: The insect bears one pair of long, membranous wings extending alongside the body. The wings appear transparent (hyaline) with fine venation visible. Notably, no second pair of full-sized wings is evident – a hallmark of Diptera, which possess only forewings for flight while hindwings are reduced to tiny knob-like halteres for balance
Head & Eyes: The head is prominently visible, with relatively large compound eyes on each side (typical of many flies).
Mouthparts: The mouthparts appear to be of the piercing-sucking type, consistent with a mosquito or related fly. A long, slender proboscis can sometimes be seen extending from the head in mosquito fossils
Abdomen: The abdomen is slender, cylindrical, and segmented. It likely tapers toward the end and might show around 8–10 segments
