More than 350 new species of wasp have been identified by the Natural History Museum, and there are many more to come.
A total of 351 new species have been described by the curators and researchers.
The wasp, with its beautiful, feather-like wings, was the biggest discovery.
Some of the smallest insects in the world are from the Megaphragma family. A type of insect that can cause crop damage, the thrips, is parasitised by the insects.
The principal curator in charge of insects at the museum is Dr. Broad. He said that it was a surprise that the new wasp species didn't win every year.
The orderhymenoptera is the most species-rich order of insects, but it is behind some other groups in terms of actual species descriptions. It's a good idea to watch out for a lot more wasp next year.
There are at least 84 species of beetle, 34 species of moths, 23 species of moss animals, and 13 species of trematode worms. There were 12 new species of protists, seven species of flies, two bumblebees from Asia, two polychaete worms from the depths of the oceans and a centipede that has never been seen before.
Nineteen new species of stick insect were found in the tropics of Australia. Genetic analysis was used by scientists to tell them apart.
There are at least three species of fish and seven species of frog.
There are six frog species that are small. They grow to eight millimetres in length. They are not known why they were so small.
The Natural History Museum said it was important to give the species official names so they could be monitored and protected from the effects of climate breakdown.
It is a race against time to name all the extinct species so they can be saved.
There were 11 new species of algae and four new species of plants described this year.
The description of the new plant species was done by Dr. Knapp.
She said: "Although flowering plants are well known as far as groups of organisms go, it is estimated that even though we have given about 450,000 species scientific names, there are still about 25% left to describe." We don't know about these things because they are known by local and Indigenous peoples where they occur.
Plants have a variety of names, some specific to an area or language group, others more widespread, but the scientific names we coin can be used anywhere. One of the things we need to bend the curve for is a common language. How can we save a species if we can't discuss it?
A new species of coral found at depths up to 2,000m in the Rockall Trench is one of the significant marine life discoveries of the year.
Albie, the only known albatross in the northern hemisphere, was discovered by the Manx Wildlife Trust along with the fossilised remains of a prehistoric sea dragon.
The charity said that this life is under threat from pressures including the global avian flu pandemic which has killed thousands of seabirds across the UK, to pollution including oil spills and plastic, and people irresponsibly disturbing wildlife.
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