**2. Describing an ancient social bee in amber using DR**

To help demonstrate the non-invasive, diagnostic advantages of DR it is worthwhile detailing the following experiment on one of the oldest bees known, *Proplebeia adbita*. In the following experiment, we examined the external and internal morphology of an Early Miocene (Burdigalian) stingless bee (Apinae: Meliponini) from the Dominican Republic using non-destructive X-ray microtomography analysis (MicroCT). The study shows the accurate reconstruction of features otherwise obscured or impossible to visualise without destroying/damaging the sample and enables diagnosis of the specimen as a new species of bee [44].
