Rivne amber, occasionally called Ukrainian amber, is

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

found in the

Rivne Oblast Rivne Oblast ( uk, Рі́вненська о́бласть, translit=Rivnenska oblast), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna ( uk, Рі́вненщина) is an oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of th ...

and surrounding regions of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. The amber is dated between

Late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "daw ...

and

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was prece ...

, and suggested to be contemporaneous to

Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...

. Major exploration and mining of the amber did not start until the 1990s.

Geology

The

late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "daw ...

amber is hosted in the Mezhigorje Formation, with early reports of occurrences in the underlying Obukhov Formation as well. The formations are found along the northwestern margin of the

Ukrainian Crystalline Shield In geology the Ukrainian Shield (or Ukrainian Crystalline Massif) is the southwest shield of the East European craton. The Ukrainian Shield and the Voronezh Massif consist of 3.2-3.8 Ga Archaean crust in the southwest and east, and 2.3-2.1 Ga ...

exposed in the Rivne region of the Ukraine and across the border near

Rechitsa , nickname = , image_skyline = Rzeczyca (BY) plac.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = Rechytsa town centre, Kastrychnitskaya (October) Square , image_flag = Flag of Rečyca, Belarus.svg , image_shield ...

in the

Gomel Region Gomel Region or Gomel Oblast or Homiel Voblasts ( be, Го́мельская во́бласць, Homielskaja vobłasć, russian: Гомельская область, Gomelskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center i ...

. The granite

basement rock In geology, basement and crystalline basement are crystalline rocks lying above the mantle and beneath all other rocks and sediments. They are sometimes exposed at the surface, but often they are buried under miles of rock and sediment. The baseme ...

was overlain by sandy to clayey deposits that were host to alluvial amber. The two formations total between in thickness, both containing interbeds or mixtures of

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

s and carbonized vegetation. Both formations are sandy to clayey in texture, with the Obukhov having more clayey

glauconite Glauconite is an iron potassium phyllosilicate ( mica group) mineral of characteristic green color which is very friable and has very low weathering resistance. It crystallizes with a monoclinic geometry. Its name is derived from the Greek () m ...

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

plus sandy loess, while the Mezhigorje is mostly medium to fine grained sands of a greenish gray tone, and with occasional iron impregnation and layering.

Prehistoric use

Small amounts of rough, partially worked, and fully shaped amber have been recovered from

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

sites in the Dnieper area. At a site near

Mezhyrich Mezhyrich ( uk, Межиріч, also referred to as Mezhirich) is a village (''selo'') in central Ukraine. It is located in Cherkasy Raion (raion, district) of Cherkasy Oblast (oblast, province), near the point where the Rosava River flows into ...

, four large

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

bone huts attributed to

Cro-Magnon Early European modern humans (EEMH), or Cro-Magnons, were the first early modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') to settle in Europe, migrating from Western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They ...

''Homo sapiens'' included over 300 pieces of amber attributed to Rivne origins. Many of the amber pieces are roughly fashioned into triangular and circular shapes. Dating of the site ranges between 13,300 and 10,500 B.C., when the regions of Baltic amber deposits in Kaliningrad and Lithuania were still covered with ice-sheets. A small female statuette of carved amber was found near Dobranichevka, while a disc with a central hole, and a hunting scene carved on one side was found in a

Globular Amphora culture The Globular Amphora culture (GAC, (KAK); ), c. 3400–2800 BC, is an archaeological culture in Central Europe. Marija Gimbutas assumed an Indo-European origin, though this is contradicted by newer genetic studies that show a connection to the ear ...

tomb in the Dubno district of Ukraine.

Mining

The main use of amber until the 20th century was for burning, and rarely was it shaped for crafts. As such, before the 1990s amber recovery wasn't overseen by the Ukrainian government, with small amounts found after rains and thaws and during well construction and while the Kyiv-Kovel rail line was being built. Small scale collecting of the amber started to gain momentum in the 1950s when granite deposits in the Klesiv area were beginning to be developed. At that time the amber was picked from drainage piles and tailings dumps of the granite quarries, often limited in access by the quarry operators. Following an increase in the amber for jewelry production in Kyiv, Lithuania, and Poland, during the 1970s investigation and eventual start of the Pugach quarry in Klesiv culminated in 1991. In 1993 the Ukrainian government first started state overseen mining, under the auspices of Ukrburshtyn and at the same time making other major amber mining illegal. The current mining, centered on the Pugach quarry is operated by Burshtyn-Ukrainy. Since 2014 and the breakdown of law and order following the

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

, 90% of Ukrainian amber is extracted illegally and the trade is controlled by armed organised crime groups. The amber is extracted by pumping water into the sandy sediments forcing the amber to the surface, creating pits. Areas where the amber is found are often covered in pine-beech forest, which is illegally deforested to extract the amber. Annual volumes of amber extracted illegally are suggested to be around 300 tons. The richest placer deposits of Rivne amber are associated with the Obukhiv (late Eocene) and Mezhigorje (early Oligocene) Formations; deposits in the Kyiv region are known to come from the base of the Mezhigorje Fm. The majority of Rivne amber is mined from the lower part of the aforementioned Formation, with the most notable locality being the Pugach Quarry in Klesiv.

Composition

Amber from the Klesiv deposit and others in Ukraine have up to 0.1% Fe giving many pieces yellow-brown and brownish red tones to the amber, though nearly crystal clear to totally opaque are found as well. Rare pieces have light green to pale green coloration, which typically fades to yellow after a year or two in the small pieces. However, larger pieces of green amber between are more stable in color and have not faded after a decade. Most of the amber from the Klesiv area has an oxidization crust between thick and brown to dark brown in coloration. Amber from the Volnoje area northwest of Klesiv often show a smooth transparent dark yellow crust, which is rarely seen in Klesiv specimens. Similar to

, Rivne amber is viscous in

plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...

and unaltered pieces of both have a density of 0.98–1.13 g/cm³.

Infrared spectroscopy Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy or vibrational spectroscopy) is the measurement of the interaction of infrared radiation with matter by absorption, emission, or reflection. It is used to study and identify chemical substances or function ...

of the amber shows carboxyl, hydroxyl, peroxide, and complex ester functional groups and additionally single and double bonds in the molecular structure are present placing Rivne amber in the succinite range, same as Baltic amber. Trace amounts of Pb, Y, Zn, Zr, and some other elements are present in Rivne amber. Small to no detectable amounts of those elements are detected in Baltic amber.

Paleoecology

There are a number of arthropod taxa, ranging from planthoppers, such as ''

Alicodoxa ''Alicodoxa'' is an extinct genus of planthopper in the fulgoroid family Dictyopharidae. The genus contains a single described species, ''Alicodoxa rasnitsyni'' and is known from several Late Eocene fossils which were found in Europe. Histo ...

'', and ants to mites and spiders that are shared between Rivne and Baltic amber. As of 2016 there were 193 ant species described from Priabonian age European ambers, with all but 56 of the species being found in or described originally from Baltic amber, while Rivne amber hosts 31 of the 56 species that are not known from Baltic amber. Based on the differences in ant fauna between Baltic amber and Rivne amber, it has been suggested by Perkovsky that the two were different areas of a large forest that covered Late Eocene to early Oligocene Europe. The spiders of Rivne amber are similar to Baltic amber ones, but there is a notable percentage that are unique species not shared between the two. Similarly the gall midges from Rivne amber are entirely unique to Rivne and not shared at all with the Baltic amber. A drier climate for the Rivne forest is also suggested based on the high percentage of the

Collembola Springtails (Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects (the other two are the Protura and Diplura). Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Ento ...

families

Entomobryidae Entomobryidae, sometimes called "slender springtails", is a family of springtails characterised by having an enlarged fourth abdominal segmentation (biology), segment and a well-developed furcula (Collembola), furcula. Species in this family ma ...

and

Sminthuridae Sminthuridae is a family of springtails of the order Symphypleona. Sminthurids are commonly referred to as globular springtails. Description Like other Symphypleona, Sminthuridae are globular in shape and have a furcula that allows them to ju ...

, 59.7% and 24.5% respectively of the Collembola fauna. Baltic amber fly families have a distinct percentage of families associated with aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats, such as

Chironomidae The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many species ...

, while the Rivne fly fauna includes nearly double the amount of

Sciaridae The Sciaridae are a family of flies, commonly known as dark-winged fungus gnats. Commonly found in moist environments, they are known to be a pest of mushroom farms and are commonly found in household plant pots. This is one of the least studie ...

Tipulidae Crane fly is a common name referring to any member of the insect family (biology), family Tipulidae. Cylindrotominae, Limoniinae, and Pediciinae have been ranked as subfamilies of Tipulidae by most authors, though occasionally elevated to family ...

, Mycetophilidae and other families associated with leaf litter habitats, called the "''Sciara''" zone. This is also seen in the coleopterans. There is an overall smaller number of

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

s, a condition suggesting a possible subtropical climate for the Rivne forest, while the percentage of the hymenopteran family

Scelionidae The hymenopteran family Scelionidae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species in some 176 genera) of exclusively parasitoid wasps, mostly small (0.5–10 mm), often black, often highly sculptured, with (typically) elbowe ...

suggests a drier climate as well. File:Alicodoxa rasnitsyni holotype cropped.jpg, Extinct hopper '' Alicodoxa rasnitsyni'' nymph File:Eocenomyrma ukrainica CASENT0917550 holotype profile.jpg, '' Eocenomyrma ukrainica'' holotype male File:Cryptophagus alexagrestis dorsal.jpg, Extinct silken fungus beetle ''

Cryptophagus alexagrestis ''Cryptophagus'' is a genus of beetles in the family Cryptophagidae, the silken fungus beetles. It is distributed across all the biogeographic realms of the world.Lyubarsky, G. Y. and E. E. Perkovsky. (2011)Third contribution on Rovno amber silke ...

Taxa

There are several hundred families of arthropods identified from Rovno amber, with major reviews being compiled by Perkovsky ''et al'' (2003, 2007, 2010).

Plantae

Bryophyta

* Brachytheciaceae * Ctenidiaceae * Neckeraceae *

Rhachitheciaceae Rhachitheciaceae is a family of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae)s in the order Dicranales Dicranales is an order of haplolepideous mosses in the subclass Dicranidae The Dicranidae are a widespread and diverse subclass of mosses in clas ...

Marchantiophyta

Jubulaceae The family Jubulaceae is a family of liverworts. The family name is derived from the genus ''Jubula''. Genera According to GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scient ...

Crustacea

Isoptera

Porcellionidae Porcellionidae is a terrestrial family of the order Isopoda. This family contains 530 species, found on every continent except Antarctica. The ventral plate of the thoracic exoskeleton flare out slightly over the legs. This "flare" is called t ...

Trichoniscidae Trichoniscidae are a family of isopods (woodlice), including the most abundant British woodlouse, '' Trichoniscus pusillus''. Most species of woodlice that have returned to an aquatic or amphibian way of life belong to this family. Several speci ...

Arachnida

Acari

* Anystidae * Bdellidae *?

Cepheidae Cepheidae may refer to: * Cepheidae (jellyfish) Cepheidae is a family of jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part o ...

Cheyletoidea Cheyletoidea is a superfamily of mites in the order Trombidiformes. They are parasites of other arthropods and vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all ...

* Digamasellidae *

Erythraeidae Erythraeidae is a family of mites belonging to the Trombidiformes. Larval forms of these mites are parasitic on various other arthropods, for example harvestmen, but the adults are free-living predators. These oval mites are rather large, usually ...

* Glaesacaridae *?

Ixodidae The Ixodidae are the family of hard ticks or scale ticks, one of the three families of ticks, consisting of over 700 species. They are known as 'hard ticks' because they have a scutum or hard shield, which the other major family of ticks, the 'sof ...

* Liacaroidea * Microtrombidiidae * Oppoidea *? Rhagidiidae

Araneae

Araneidae Orb-weaver spiders are members of the spider family Araneidae. They are the most common group of builders of spiral wheel-shaped webs often found in gardens, fields, and forests. The English word "orb" can mean "circular", hence the English name ...

Clubionidae The sac spiders of the family Clubionidae have a very confusing taxonomic history. Once, this family was a large catch-all taxon for a disparate collection of spiders, similar only in that they had eight eyes arranged in two rows and conical anter ...

Nesticidae Scaffold web spiders (Nesticidae) is a family of araneomorph spiders closely allied with tangle web spiders. Like the "Theridiidae", these spiders have a comb of serrated bristles on the hind tarsi that are used to pull silk bands from the spinne ...

Oonopidae Oonopidae, also known as goblin spiders, is a family of spiders consisting of over 1,600 described species in about 113 genera worldwide, with total species diversity estimated at 2000 to 2500 species. The type genus of the family is ''Oonops'' K ...

Salticidae Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all species. Jumping spi ...

Linyphiidae Linyphiidae, spiders commonly known as sheet weavers (from the shape of their webs), or money spiders (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and in Portugal, from the superstition that if such a spider is seen running on you, ...

Liocranidae Liocranidae is a family of araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1897. They are one of several groups called "sac spiders". The holarctic genus '' Agroeca'' is the best-known, but it also includes various genera of more obscure ...

Zodariidae Ant spiders are members of the family Zodariidae. They are small to medium-sized eight-eyed spiders found in all tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, New Zealand, Arabia and the Indian sub ...

Myriapoda

Chilopoda

Lithobiidae Lithobiidae is a family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Diplopoda

Polyxenidae Polyxenidae is a family of millipedes in the order Polyxenida containing approximately 47 species in 19 genera. Adults in all species in this family have 13 pairs of legs. Genera * '' Allographis'' Silvestri 1948 * '' Anopsxenus'' Condé & J ...

Entognatha

Collembola

* Hypogastruridae *

* Bourletiellidae * Tomoceridae

Insects

Archaeognatha

Machilidae The Machilidae are a family of insects belonging to the order Archaeognatha (the bristletails). There are around 250 described species worldwide. These insects are wingless, elongated and more or less cylindrical with a distinctive humped thorax ...

Blattodea

Blaberidae Giant cockroaches, or blaberids (family Blaberidae) are the second-largest cockroach family by number of species. Notable species Notable species within this family include: * Cape mountain cockroach – ''Aptera fusca'' * Dwarf cave cockroa ...

? *

Blattellidae Ectobiidae (formerly Blattellidae) is a family of the order Blattodea (cockroaches). This family contains many of the smaller common household pest cockroaches, among others. They are sometimes called wood cockroaches. A few notable species inclu ...

Polyphagidae Corydiidae, previously known as Polyphagidae, is a family of the order Blattodea (cockroaches). Many are known as sand cockroaches. The family is divided into five subfamilies, comprising some 40 genera. One prominent species is the desert cockroa ...

Coleoptera

Aderidae The Aderidae, sometimes called ant-like leaf beetles, are a family of beetles that bear some resemblance to ants. The family consists of about 1,000 species in about 40 genera, of which most are tropical, although overall distribution is worldwid ...

Anthicidae The Anthicidae are a family of beetles that resemble ants. They are sometimes called ant-like flower beetles or ant-like beetles. The family comprises over 3,500 species in about 100 genera. Description Their heads constrict just in front of ...

* Artematopidae *

Carabidae Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal fami ...

Cleridae Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences. Cleridae have many niches and fe ...

Chrysomelidae The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

Curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. T ...

Dermestidae Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,100 species described. Dermestids have ...

Elateridae Elateridae or click beetles (or "typical click beetles" to distinguish them from the related families Cerophytidae and Eucnemidae, which are also capable of clicking) are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spr ...

* Helodidae *

Languriidae ''Ischyrus quadripunctatus'' Erotylidae, or the pleasing fungus beetles, is a family of beetles belonging to Cucujoidea containing over 100 genera. In the present circumscription, it contains 6 tribes (Tritomini, Dacnini, Megalodacnini, Er ...

* Lathridiidae *

Leiodidae Leiodidae is a family of beetles with around 3800 described species found worldwide. Members of this family are commonly called round fungus beetles due to the globular shape of many species, although some are more elongated in shape. They are g ...

Melandryidae Melandryidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. Members of the family are found worldwide, with around 420 species in 60 genera. Larvae and adults are generally associated with rotting wood and wood-decomposing fungi. Ge ...

Melyridae Melyridae (common name: soft-winged flower beetles) are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. Description Most are elongate-oval, soft-bodied beetles 10 mm long or less. Many are brightly patterned in black and brown, yellow, ...

Monotomidae Monotomidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. The family is found worldwide, with approximately 240 species in 33 genera. The ecological habits of the family are diverse, with different members of the group being found under t ...

Mordellidae The Mordellidae are a family of beetles commonly known as tumbling flower beetles for the typical irregular movements they make when escaping predators, or as pintail beetles due to their abdominal tip which aids them in performing these tumbling ...

Mycetophagidae The Mycetophagidae or hairy fungus beetles are a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. The different species are between 1.0 and 6.5 mm in length. The larvae and adults live in decaying leaf litter, fungi, and under bark. Mos ...

Nitidulidae The sap beetles, also known as Nitidulidae, are a family (biology), family of beetles. They are small (2–6 mm) ovoid, usually dull-coloured beetles, with knobbed antenna (biology), antennae. Some have red or yellow spots or bands. They fe ...

Ptiliidae Ptiliidae is a family of very tiny beetles with a cosmopolitan distribution. This family contains the smallest of all beetles, with a length when fully grown of . The weight is approximately 0.4 milligrams. They are colloquially called feat ...

Ptinidae Ptinidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Bostrichoidea. There are at least 220 genera and 2,200 described species in Ptinidae worldwide. The family includes spider beetles and deathwatch beetles. The Ptinidae family species are hard ...

Scolytidae A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family ( Curculionidae). Although t ...

* Scraptiidae *

Scirtidae Scirtidae is a family of beetles ( Coleoptera). These beetles are commonly referred to as marsh beetles, as the larvae are typically associated with stagnant water, but can be found in flowing water. Adults prefer decomposing plant material nea ...

* Scydmaenidae *

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...

Zopheridae The Zopheridae family of beetles has grown considerably in recent years as the members of two other families have been included within its circumscription; these former families are the Monommatidae and the Colydiidae, which are now both incl ...

Diptera

Acroceridae The Acroceridae are a small family (biology), family of odd-looking flies. They have a hump-backed appearance with a strikingly small head, generally with a long proboscis for accessing nectar. They are rare and not widely known. The most frequen ...

Asilidae The Asilidae are the robber fly family, also called assassin flies. They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking hypopharynx. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive pre ...

Bombyliidae The Bombyliidae are a family of flies, commonly known as bee flies. Adults generally feed on nectar and pollen, some being important pollinators. Larvae are mostly parasitoids of other insects. Overview The Bombyliidae are a large family of fl ...

? *

Campichoetidae Campichoetidae is a small family of Acalyptratae, acalyptrate Fly, Diptera with only one genus ''Campichoeta'' Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart, Macquart, 1835. They are regarded by most authors as Diastatidae as subfamily Campichoetinae. References ...

Cecidomyiidae Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small insects usu ...

Ceratopogonidae Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums, or biting midges, generally in length. The family includes more than 5,000 species, distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic. Ceratopogonidae are holomet ...

* Chaodoridae *

Clusiidae Clusiidae or "druid flies" is a family of small (~ 3.5 mm), thin, yellow to black acalyptrate flies with a characteristic antenna (The second segment of the antennae has a triangular projection over the third segment when viewed from the o ...

Dixidae The Dixidae (meniscus midges) are a family (biology), family of aquatic insect, aquatic nematoceran fly, flies (Diptera). The larvae live in unpolluted, standing fresh waters, just beneath the surface film, usually amongst marginal aquatic vegetat ...

Dolichopodidae Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 7,000 described species in about 230 genera. The genus ''Dolichopus'' is the most speciose, with some 600 species. Dolichopodidae generally are ...

Drosophilidae The Drosophilidae are a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies, which includes species called fruit flies, although they are more accurately referred to as vinegar or pomace flies. Another distantly related family of flies, Tephritidae, are true f ...

Empididae __NOTOC__ Empididae is a family of flies with over 3,000 described species occurring worldwide in all the biogeographic realms but the majority are found in the Holarctic. They are mainly predatory flies like most of their relatives in the Empid ...

Keroplatidae The Keroplatidae are a family of small fly, flies known as fungus gnats. About 950 species are described, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. They are generally forest dwellers found in the damp habitats favoured by their h ...

* Limoniidae * Mycetobiidae *

Mycetophilidae The Mycetophilidae are a family of small flies, forming the bulk of those species known as fungus gnats. About 3000 described species are placed in 150 genera, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. They are generally found ...

Mythicomyiidae Mythicomyiidae, commonly called mythicomyiids, are very tiny flies (0.5–5.0 mm) found throughout most parts of the world, especially desert and semi-desert regions, except the highest altitudes and latitudes. They are not as common in the t ...

Phoridae The Phoridae are a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies. Phorid flies can often be identified by their escape habit of running rapidly across a surface rather than taking to the wing. This behaviour is a source of one of thei ...

Psychodidae Psychodidae, called drain flies, sink flies, filter flies, sewer flies, or sewer gnats, is a family of true flies. Some genera have short, hairy bodies and wings giving them a "furry" moth-like appearance, hence one of their common names, moth f ...

Rhagionidae Rhagionidae or snipe flies are a small family of flies. They get their name from the similarity of their often prominent proboscis that looks like the beak of a snipe. Description Rhagionidae are medium-sized to large flies with slender bodies a ...

Scatopsidae __NOTOC__ The minute black scavenger flies or "dung midges", are a family, Scatopsidae, of nematoceran flies. Despite being distributed throughout the world, they form a small family with only around 250 described species in 27 genera, although m ...

Simuliidae A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 speci ...

* Syrphidae *

Ephemeroptera

Heptageniidae The Heptageniidae (synonym: Ecdyonuridae) are a family of mayflies with over 500 described species mainly distributed in the Holarctic, Oriental, and Afrotropical regions, and also present in the Central American Tropics and extreme northern Sou ...

Hemiptera

Achilidae Achilidae is a family of achilid planthoppers in the order Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, le ...

Aleyrodidae Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than 1550 species have been described. Description and taxonomy The A ...

Anthocoridae Anthocoridae is a family of bugs, commonly called minute pirate bugs or flower bugs. Worldwide there are 500-600 species. Description Anthocoridae are 1.5–5 mm long and have soft, elongated oval, flat bodies, often patterned in black an ...

Aphalaridae Aphalaridae is a bug family in the superfamily Psylloidea PsylloideaOuvrard D: ''The ...

? *

Cercopidae Cercopidae are the largest family of Cercopoidea, a xylem-feeding insect group, commonly called froghoppers or spittlebugs. They belong to the hemipteran suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Genera A-C *'' Abidama'' *'' Aeneolamia'' *†'' Allocerco ...

* Cicadellidae *

Cixiidae The Cixiidae are a family of Fulgoroidea, fulgoroid insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over 150 Genus (biology), genera. The genera are placed into thre ...

Dictyopharidae Dictyopharidae is a family of planthoppers, related to the Fulgoridae. The family comprises nearly 760 species in more than 150 genera which are grouped into two subfamilies, Dictyopharinae and Orgeriinae. Description Like all other fulgoroi ...

Drepanosiphidae Drepanosiphinae is a subfamily of aphids in the family Aphididae. There are about 13 genera, 8 of which are extinct, and more than 60 described species in Drepanosiphinae. While a few authors have suggested treating the group as a family, this h ...

* Electraphididae *

Eriosomatidae Woolly aphids (subfamily: Eriosomatinae) are sap-sucking insects that produce a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The nymphs often form la ...

Lygaeidae The Lygaeidae are a family in the Hemiptera (true bugs), with more than 110 genera in four subfamilies. The family is commonly referred to as seed bugs, and less commonly, milkweed bugs, or ground bugs. However, while many of the species feed on ...

* Matsucoccidae *

Microphysidae The Microphysidae are a very small family of bugs, comprising only 5 extant genera. Systematics Until recently, many authors considered these bugs to belong within the family Anthocoridae. The following genera belong to this family: Subfamil ...

* Mindaridae *

Miridae The Miridae are a large and diverse insect family at one time known by the taxonomic synonym Capsidae. Species in the family may be referred to as capsid bugs or "mirid bugs". Common names include plant bugs, leaf bugs, and grass bugs. It is the ...

Ortheziidae Ortheziidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as the ensign scales or ortheziids. They occur in most parts of the world but the majority of the species are found in the Neotropical and Nearctic regions while there are not many species i ...

Pemphigidae Woolly aphids (subfamily: Eriosomatinae) are sap-sucking insects that produce a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool. The adults are winged and move to new locations where they lay egg masses. The nymphs often form l ...

Piesmatidae Piesmatidae is a small family of true bugs, commonly called ash-grey leaf bugs. The Piesmatidae are distributed mostly in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with some occurring in Africa, Australia and South America. A common species found throu ...

Pseudococcidae Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a ...

Reduviidae The Reduviidae are a large cosmopolitan family of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush predators: most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic. The main exampl ...

* Saldidae * Schizopteridae *

Tingidae The Tingidae are a family of very small () insects in the order Hemiptera that are commonly referred to as lace bugs. This group is distributed worldwide with about 2,000 described species. They are called lace bugs because the pronotum and f ...

Tropiduchidae Tropiduchidae is a family of planthoppers in the order Hemiptera. There are at least 160 genera and 600 described species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of ...

Hymenoptera

* Aphelinidae *

Bethylidae The Bethylidae are a family of aculeate wasps in the superfamily Chrysidoidea. As a family, their biology ranges between parasitoid wasps and hunting wasps. Overview Like most of the Chrysidoidea, the Bethylidae are stinging Hymenoptera and m ...

Braconidae The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...

Ceraphronidae The Ceraphronidae are a small hymenopteran family with 14 genera and some 360 known species, though a great many species are still undescribed. It is a poorly known group as a whole, though most are believed to be parasitoids (especially of f ...

Chrysididae Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors ...

Crabronidae The Crabronidae are a large paraphyletic group (nominally a family) of wasps, including nearly all of the species formerly comprising the now-defunct superfamily Sphecoidea. It collectively includes well over 200 genera, containing well over 9 ...

Cynipidae Gall wasps, also incorrectly called gallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1,300 species of this genera ...

Diapriidae The Diapriidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. These tiny insects have an average length of 2–4 mm and never exceed 8 mm. They typically attack larvae and pupae of a wide range of insects, especially flies. The about 2,300 described ...

Embolemidae Embolemidae is a family of small solitary parasitoid wasps with around 70 species in 2 genera distributed around the world.van Achterberg, Cornelis & Kats, R.. (2000). Revision of the Palaearctic Embolemidae (Hymenoptera). Zoöl. Med. 74 (2000), ...

Encyrtidae Encyrtidae is a large family of parasitic wasps, with some 3710 described species in about 455 genera. The larvae of the majority are primary parasitoids on Hemiptera, though other hosts are attacked, and details of the life history can be variab ...

* Eurytomidae? *

Eulophidae The Eulophidae are a large family of hymenopteran insects, with over 4,300 described species in some 300 genera. The family includes the genus ''Elasmus'', which used to be treated as a separate family, "Elasmidae", and is now treated as a subf ...

Evaniidae Evaniidae is a family of parasitoid wasps also known as ensign wasps, nightshade wasps, hatchet wasps, or cockroach egg parasitoid wasps. They number around 20 extant genera containing over 400 described species, and are found all over the world e ...

Figitidae Figitidae is a family of parasitoid wasps. The full diversity of this wasp family is not yet known, but about 1400 species have been described to over 130 genera. For example, the largest subfamily, Eucoilinae (previously considered as a separ ...

* Formicidae *

Ichneumonidae The Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, are a family (biology), family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 2 ...

Megalyridae Megalyroidea is a small hymenopteran superfamily of wasps that includes a single family, Megalyridae, with eight extant genera (plus around a dozen extinct ones) and 49 described species. Modern megalyrids are found primarily in the southern hem ...

Megachilidae Megachilidae is a cosmopolitan family of mostly solitary bees. Both that their pollen-carrying structure (called a ''scopa'') is restricted to the ventral surface of the abdomen (rather than mostly or exclusively on the hind legs as in other b ...

Megaspilidae The Megaspilidae are a small hymenopteran family with 13 genera in two subfamilies, and some 450 known species, with a great many species still undescribed. It is a poorly known group as a whole, though most are believed to be parasitoids (espe ...

* Mutilidae *

Mymaridae The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family (biology), family of chalcid wasp, chalcidoid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 genera with 1400 species. F ...

Mymarommatidae The Mymarommatidae, sometimes referred to as false fairy wasps. are a very small family of microscopic parasitic wasps. Only about half of the known species are living taxa (the others are fossils), but they are found worldwide.Gibson, G.A.P.; Re ...

* Paxylommatidae *

Platygastridae The hymenopteran family Platygastridae (sometimes incorrectly spelled Platygasteridae) is a large group (over 4000 species) of exclusively parasitoid wasps, mostly very small (1–2 mm), black, and shining, with geniculate (elbowed) antennae ...

Pompilidae Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group-ne ...

* Proctotrupidae *

Pteromalidae The Pteromalidae are a very large family of mostly parasitoid wasps, with some 3,450 described species in about 640 genera (the number was greater, but many species and genera have been reduced by synonymy in recent years). The subfamily-level d ...

* Signiphoridae * Tetracampidae *

Torymidae Torymidae is a family of wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. Most species in this family are small with attractive metallic coloration, and females generally have long ovipositors. Many are parasitoids on gall-forming insects, and some are phy ...

Trichogrammatidae The Trichogrammatidae are a family of tiny wasps in the Chalcidoidea that include some of the smallest of all insects, with most species having adults less than 1 mm in length, with species of ''Megaphragma'' having an adult body length le ...

Isoptera

Kalotermitidae Kalotermitidae is a family of termites, commonly known as drywood termites. Kalotermitidae includes 21 genera and 419 species. The family has a cosmopolitan circumtropical distribution, and is found in functionally arid environments. Biology The ...

Rhinotermitidae Rhinotermitidae is a family of termites (Isoptera). They feed on wood and can cause extensive damage to buildings or other wooden structures. About 345 species are recognized, among these are severe pests such as ''Coptotermes formosanus'', ''Cop ...

Stylotermitidae Stylotermitidae is a family of termites in the order Blattodea Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence sugge ...

Lepidoptera

Gelechioidea __NOTOC__ Gelechioidea (from the type genus ''Gelechia'', "keeping to the ground") is the superfamily of moths that contains the case-bearers, twirler moths, and relatives, also simply called curved-horn moths or gelechioid moths. It is a large a ...

(family indeterminate) *

Psychidae The Psychidae (bagworm moths, also simply bagworms or bagmoths) are a family of the Lepidoptera ( butterflies and moths). The bagworm family is fairly small, with about 1,350 species described. Bagworm species are found globally, with some, ...

Tineoidea Tineoidea is the ditrysian superfamily of moths that includes clothes moths, Bagworm moth, bagworms and relatives. There are six families usually included within it, Eriocottidae, Arrhenophanidae, Lypusidae, Acrolophidae, Tineidae and Psychidae, ...

(family indeterminate)

Mantodea

Family indeterminate

Mecoptera

* Bittacidae

Neuroptera

Coniopterygidae The dustywings, Coniopterygidae, are a family of Pterygota (winged insects) of the net-winged insect order ( Neuroptera). About 460 living species are known.Engel & Grimaldi (2007) These tiny insects can usually be determined to genus with a han ...

Hemerobiidae Hemerobiidae is a family of Neuropteran insects commonly known as brown lacewings, comprising about 500 species in 28 genera. Most are yellow to dark brown, but some species are green. They are small; most have forewings 4–10 mm long (som ...

Nevrorthidae The Nevrorthidae, (often incorrectly spelled "Neurorthidae"), are a small family of winged insects of the order Neuroptera. Extant species may be described as living fossils. There are 19 extant species in four genera, with a geographically di ...

Orthoptera

Gryllidae The family ''Gryllidae'' contains the subfamilies and genera which entomologists now term true crickets. Having long, whip-like antennae, they belong to the Orthopteran suborder Ensifera, which has been greatly reduced in the last 100 years (''e ...

Tettigoniidae Insects in the family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids (especially in North America), or bush crickets. They have previously been known as "long-horned grasshoppers". More than 8,000 species are known. Part of the suborder Ensifera, t ...

Plecoptera

Capniidae The Capniidae, the small winter stoneflies, are a family of insects in the stonefly order (Plecoptera). It constitutes one of the largest stonefly families, containing some 300 species distributed throughout the holarctic. Their closest relative ...

* Leuctridae

Psocoptera

* Archipsocidae *

Caeciliusidae Caeciliusidae is a family of Psocodea (formerly Psocoptera) belonging to the suborder Psocomorpha. The family was once named Caeciliidae, but the latter name was changed because of homonymy with the amphibian family Caeciliidae. The subfamily Pa ...

* Ephemeriidae * Epipsocidae *

Psocidae Psocidae is a family of barklice in the order Psocodea (formerly Psocoptera). Members of this family are recognized by their wing-venation, where the areola postica is fused to the M-vein, giving rise to the so-called discoidal cell. This fam ...

Sphaeropsocidae Sphaeropsocidae is a family of Psocodea (formerly Psocoptera), belonging to the suborder Troctomorpha. Females of this family have reduced, beetle-like elytra, and lack hindwings, with males have either small or absent wings. The family compris ...

Raphidioptera

Raphidiidae ''Raphidiidae'' is a family of snakeflies in the order Raphidioptera. Genera Raphidiidae are divided in 28 genera with about 210 species *'' Africoraphidia'' *'' Agulla'' Navas 1914 *'' Alena'' Navas 1916 *'' Atlantoraphidia'' *'' Calabroraphi ...

Thysanoptera

Aeolothripidae The Aeolothripidae are a family of thrips. They are particularly common in the holarctic region, although several occur in the drier parts of the subtropics, including dozens in Australia. Adults and larvae are usually found in flowers, but they ...

Merothripidae Merothripidae is a family of thrips in the order Thysanoptera. There are at least 4 genera and 20 described species in Merothripidae. Genera These four genera belong to the family Merothripidae: * '' Damerothrips'' Hood, 1954 * ''Merothrips'' Ho ...

* Phloeothripidae *

Thripidae The Thripidae are the most speciose family of thrips, with over 290 genera representing just over two thousand species. They can be distinguished from other thrips by a saw-like ovipositor curving downwards, narrow wings with two veins, and anten ...

Trichoptera

* Beraeida *

Calamoceratidae Calamoceratidae is a family of caddisflies in the order Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which ca ...

Ecnomidae The Ecnomidae are a family of caddisflies comprising 9 genera with a total of 375 species. Distribution The Ecinomidae have a Gondwanan distribution, except one genus, which also is present in Oriental and Palearctic regions. Morphology The ad ...

Hydroptilidae The Hydroptilidae are a large family of caddisflies (Trichoptera) with a worldwide distribution. They are commonly known as microcaddisflies or purse-case caddisflies, in reference to two characteristic traits of this family: Hydroptilidae are ...

Philopotamidae Philopotamidae is a family of insects in the order Trichoptera, the caddisflies. They are known commonly as the finger-net caddisflies. *

Phryganeidae Phryganeidae is a family of giant caddisflies in the order Trichoptera. There are about 16 genera and at least 80 described species in Phryganeidae. The type genus for Phryganeidae is ''Phryganea ''Phryganea'' is a genus of giant casem ...

* Polycentropodidae *

Psychomyiidae The Psychomyiidae are a family of tube-making caddisflies. Members of this family are typically very similar to polycentropodids, most of them can be differentiated by the spur formula is 2-4-4, thyridial cell short, absence of the forewing for ...

Strepsiptera

Family indeterminate

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline, Rovno amber Natural history of Ukraine Miocene life Eocene life Mining in Ukraine Paleontological sites of Europe History of Rivne Oblast