Fossil Wasp nest? ID verification

[Ruger9a]

Good morning folks.  I have another puzzling fossil requiring identification/verification.  This fossil came from the Tucson show in 2008 and was thought to be a fossil insect (wasp) nest.  There were seven unlabeled fossils in the group I purchased.  I have identified five of them but this is one I need your help with.  Sounds like china when it's tapped with a spoon and appears to have a small section of fossil tree branch attached to it.  Help!

[Rockwood]

Ya know, I think if you dug up a modern wasp nest the outside would look like, a ball of dirt. 

The inside is where you need to look for evidence.

[Ruger9a]

Thanks Rockwood.  Without cutting it in half I'm not sure I can adequately see the inside.  Any suggestions of how see inside with out damaging the fossil?  

[Ruger9a]

One thing I noticed is semicircular grooves in a few spots that may indicate it was in a tree or bush.

[Rockwood]

12 minutes ago, Ruger9a said:

One thing I noticed is semicircular grooves in a few spots that may indicate it was in a tree or bush.

Were that the case I would expect plant fossils. The fiber of a nest having at least equal fossilization potential.

The thought is dampened by the concept that mucus/saliva is known to enhance preservation though.

A CT scanner set on fry has produced results when studying encased fossils , but I have no idea if this would make a good patient.  

[Fossildude19]

I have a difficult time believing that a wasp nest could be preserved 3 dimensionally, as this item is.

I don't know how you would account for this type of preservation.  

I would more willingly believe some sort of root cast, or burrow, before wasp nest.  

 

[Shamalama]

Years ago I made a trade with a collector in Spain who sent me some Wasp Nest fossils just like this that came from the Canary Islands. Let me find them and I will post photos.  Think Mud wasps and these were likely egg chambers rather than nests.

[FossilDAWG]

There is no way to identify this without being able to see the interior structure.  The situation is not helped by the lack of any information about provenance.

 

Don

[Ruger9a]

Here are photos of the inside.  Best I could take with my micro, hope they help.

[Ruger9a]

It is 6.5 x 3.3cm.  The hole is 5x6mm.

[Bobby Rico]

It looks a little like a weevil cocoon but the opening seems in the wrong place, so probably not. Interesting item .

[Rockwood]

The inside strikes me as being very daubed mud like. I sure wouldn't dismiss the wasp, of solitary bee nest idea.

[Shamalama]

Found a paper that explains these fossils: "Fossil bee cells from the Canary Islands. Ichnotaxonomy, palaeobiology and palaeoenvironments of Palmiraichnus castellanosi", La Roche Brier, Francisco & Genise, Jorge & Castillo, Carolina & Quesada, María & García-Gotera, Cristo & Nuez, Julio. (2014).  Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 409: 249–264.  DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.05.012

 

Quote

6. Conclusions
1) Fossil bee cells, attributable to the ichnospecies Palmiraichnus castellanosi, are recorded from the Pleistocene and Holocene of the easternmost Canary Islands. They are single cells with ovoid to
subcylindrical shape and a discrete wall covering a chamber and an antechamber. The chamber is internally polished and is sealed by a spiral closure. The antechamber, with smooth internal walls, has a structureless active filling of the same material from the palaeosol. This record constitutes the first documented evidence for bees, and Hymenoptera, in the Quaternary of the Canaries and the first one of this ichnospecies in Africa.

 

2) Specimens of Palmiraichnus castellanosi are similar to extant cells of Andrena savignyi studied herein, regarding shape, and the presence of a discrete wall, spiral closure and antechamber. This indicates that the members of the genus Andrena (Andrenidae) were the trace makers of P. castellanosi in the Canary Islands.

 

3) The high percentage (95%) of open cells indicate a high level of breeding success, favoured by the lack of predators or parasites and optimal environmental conditions, at least in the Pleistocene.

 

4) Palaeoecological and statistical data suggest that five species may have produced Palmiraichnus castellanosi in the Canary Islands. One on Lanzarote in the Holocene, another in south Fuerteventura in the Upper Pleistocene, two on Gran Canaria during theMiddle Pleistocene (one on the north coast and the second in the east) and the last on Montaña Clara, also in the Middle Pleistocene.

5) The abundance in the Pleistocene of Palmiraichnus castellanosi in the lowlands, reflecting a large number of individuals and species of Andrena, suggests a rich flora with probably many endemic shrubby species in accordance with present and other palaeobotanical and palaeoanthropological evidences.

6) The favourable climate attested by high densities of Palmiraichnus castellanosi associated with helicids may have been similar to thatprevalent at present in the lowlands of the Canaries, but probably
with a higher MAP.

7) The land-snail assemblage associated with the low densities of Palmiraichnus castellanosi in the Holocene at mid-altitude suggests a cool moist palaeoenvironment, with lower temperatures than in
the Pleistocene lowlands,more favourable for the success of the beetle producers of Rebuffoichnus than for bees producing P. castellanosi.

 

[Shamalama]

And here is what I received in my fossil exchange. Not quite the same looking thing as what you have, but similar. The sandy matrix is very unstable is falls apart rapidly. I may have to soak this one in a thin white glue solution to stabilize it.

 

 

A wider shot with some of the land snails that are found in association.

 

[Ruger9a]

53 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

The inside strikes me as being very daubed mud like. I sure wouldn't dismiss the wasp, of solitary bee nest idea.

Thank you again Rockwood.  As usual, you're right on target.

 

Dave.  Thank you so much for all your research and the information you provided.  I can FINALLY put a label on this item and put it in my display cabinet.  

[Fossildude19]

Wow! Who knew??  

I've learned something new today. Thanks for the posts, Dave!  

[Shamalama]

8 minutes ago, Ruger9a said:

Thank you again Rockwood.  As usual, you're right on target.

 

Dave.  Thank you so much for all your research and the information you provided.  I can FINALLY put a label on this item and put it in my display cabinet.  

Happy to be of help!  As those fossils are found all over the Canary Islands, I would use "Canary Islands" as the locality rather than any specific island with a note that it is only a possible locality. Mine were collected and labelled by someone while yours are of unknown provenance.

 

Now, I'm off to write a blog post about these.

[Mahnmut]

Hello there,

My father found some of these nests on the canary islands in the 80s. (1st pic, 2 holes)

They are very smooth in texture (though not in shape), a little like ceramics. The walls are relatively thin.

The pictures in the paper cited above look much more sandcovered.

Thus I believe these properties depend more on the substrate than on the animal that built it.

I saw a holocene nest for sale online right now, it is labeled as a weevils (Leptopius duponti) from Australia.(2nd pic, 1 big hole)

Aside from size (of the cell and opening) and texture (maybe depending on substrate) very different insects seem to build similar nests.

Best Regards,

J

 

 

 

[Ruger9a]

4 minutes ago, Mahnmut said:

Hello there,

My father found some of these nests on the canary islands in the 80s. (1st pic, 2 holes)

They are very smooth in texture (though not in shape), a little like ceramics. The walls are relatively thin.

The pictures in the paper cited above look much more sandcovered.

Thus I believe these properties depend more on the substrate than on the animal that built it.

I saw a holocene nest for sale online right now, it is labeled as a weevils (Leptopius duponti) from Australia.(2nd pic, 1 big hole)

Aside from size (of the cell and opening) and texture (maybe depending on substrate) very different insects seem to build similar nests.

Best Regards,

J

 

 

 

 

 

J, thanks for the information.  I'll check it out.

[piranha]

There are a few similar ichnogenera.  You should send the photos to Jorge Genise and he can confirm which one you have.  LINK

 

Genise, J.F. 2016

Ichnoentomology: Insect Traces in Soils and Paleosols.

Springer Publishing, Topics in Geobiology, 37:1-695

[Ruger9a]

Thanks piranha.  I just send Dr. Genise ten photos of the nest.  Will let you know what his conclusions are.

[abyssunder]

This is a very nice example of wasp boring in solid terestrial sediment (wasp nest). I have several comparable specimens from Fuerteventura of Canary Islands.

[Ruger9a]

Thank you abyssunder!  I'll make a change in the description I am making for display.

[Mark Kmiecik]

On 1/19/2020 at 6:10 AM, Ruger9a said:

Thanks Rockwood.  Without cutting it in half I'm not sure I can adequately see the inside.  Any suggestions of how see inside with out damaging the fossil?  

Endoscope. 

[Ruger9a]

Mark, I don't have an endoscope small enough to go through the 5mm hole.  But, thanks for the info and I do plan to look for a small one if it's within my price range.