Abstract Studies of Triassic insects in China began in 1956, and, so far, a total of 89 genera and 109 species have been found from the Triassic of China. The fossil records from 17 provinces (or regions) in China are assigned to 11 orders, except for two genera and species considered incertae sedis in Insecta. These Chinese Triassic insects, including one Early Triassic, 53 Middle Triassic and 55 Late Triassic species, are briefly reviewed in taxonomy and distribution, and listed here with detailed taxonomic and stratigraphic information. The Middle Triassic Tongchuan and Late Triassic Toksun entomofaunas are introduced in detail from the perspectives of composition and taxonomy. Existing data indicate that the Chinese Triassic entomofauna is dominated by Hemiptera, Mecoptera and Coleoptera; the Chinese Early Triassic insects are only known from Fuyuan in Yunnan Province, Middle Triassic insects are mainly known from northern China and sporadically from Guizhou Province, southern China, and Late Triassic insects are seen widely in both northern and southern China. The Middle and Late Triassic entomofaunas have a similar abundance but show a pattern of being more common in northern China than in southern China.

Abstract Zhangsolva is the type genus of the extinct long proboscis family Zhangsolvidae, originally known as a compression fossil from the Laiyang Formation, China. Here we describe a new species Zhangsolva burmensis sp. nov in Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. Antennae of zhangsolvids are discussed, and a proposed antennal segmentation of Zhangsolva cupressa is given. Anatomical features of the proboscis are interpreted based on exceptional preservation of the holotype, which are identical to flower-visiting bombyliid flies. This discovery provides important characters for further phylogenetical analysis of the Zhangsolvidae and important evidence for the proboscis function in pollination.

Abstract A new female wasp from Cenomanian Burmese amber was described as Peleserphus qufuensis sp. nov. in the proctotrupoid family Peleserphidae, which emerged in the Late Jurassic–mid-Cretaceous. It provides new data on the diversity of the family in Cenomanian Burmese amber and extends the records to five species.

Abstract A new ommatin beetle, Omma ( Coronomma ) axsmithi subgen. et sp. nov. (Insecta: Coleoptera: Archostemata: Ommatidae sensu stricto (Cupedidae sensu lato )) is described in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from northern Myanmar. The new taxon distinctly differs from nominotypical Omma in possessing a subquadrilateral v. subglobose pronotum, the latter visible in Omma lii from the same deposit. The uniquely preserved male genitalia of the latter are compared and contrasted with extant ommatins and fossil notocupedins. This new analysis suggests that the living Australian ommatin beetles ( Omma , Beutelius ) may not be as ancient as is sometimes supposed.

Abstract The earliest eukaryotes recorded in continental environments are non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) in Mesoproterozoic strata, and NPP provide our best insights into lacustrine ecosystems through the Paleogene. They have been underexploited in studies of younger lake sediments, either ignored or only qualitatively observed, because many NPP are destroyed by standard processing techniques for pollen and embryophyte spores. The palaeoenvironmental potential of palynomorphs, with representatives from all eukaryotic kingdoms as well as cyanobacteria and from all trophic levels in various lacustrine environments, has been recognized by a few Quaternary palynologists in the past few decades. NPP have proven particularly valuable in archaeological and environmental monitoring studies of human impact on freshwater ecosystems, with spores of some fungi and eggs/egg cases of some flatworms and roundworms associated with faeces of humans and livestock, and the acid-resistant remains of various life stages of cyanobacteria, algae and their aquatic consumers responding to increased turbidity and nutrient influx associated with permanent human settlements, particularly those associated with agricultural activity. Descriptions of NPP commonly encountered in Quaternary lake sediments and case studies illustrating applications to various research questions should encourage more palynologists that ‘“Quaternary non-pollen palynomorphs” deserve our attention!’, to quote Prof. Bas van Geel (2006 , Review of Paleobotany and Palynology , 141 , vii–viii, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2006.04.001 ), undisputed Father of NPP research.