The insect order Hymenoptera — wasps, bees, ants and relatives — is the third most diverse animal group, but its origin remains controversial. Fossils from Permian beds of Russia demonstrate that the wasp lineage is not as ancient as held before, and is related to alderflies and snakeflies. The wasp and snakefly ancestors were very small, indicating that these lineages have passed through a “miniaturization bottleneck.”