The fossil was recovered from outcrops of the Jiulongshan Formation exposed in the Wuhua Township by Fang Liang.

[1] The type specimen is currently preserved in the Key Lab of Insect Evolution & Environmental Changes collections housed in the Capital Normal University, located in Beijing, China.

Formosibittacus was first studied by Yan-Li Li, Dong Ren and ChungKun Shih of the Capital Normal University.

[1] The generic name was coined by Li, Ren and Shih from a combination of the Latin "formos" meaning beautiful and the modern Bittacidae genus Bittacus to which Formosibittacus is related.

The etymology of the specific epithet macularis is in reference to the numerous maculae which are present on the holotype wings.