99-million-year-old fossil reveals earliest flowering-plant mimicry

A fossil moth lacewing preserved in amber from what is now China shows insects were camouflaging themselves as flowering plants far earlier than scientists had confirmed before. The find pushes the oldest known example of angiosperm mimicry back by more than 50 million years and sheds light on how insects adapted as flowering plants spread during the Cretaceous.

Why it matters: - The fossil shows that insect camouflage evolved alongside the rise of flowering plants far earlier than previously documented. - The discovery pushes back the oldest confirmed example of an insect mimicking an angiosperm from about 47 million years ago to roughly 99 million years ago. - The find suggests insects were already using flowering plants as a defense strategy while angiosperms were reshaping ecosystems.

What happened: - Researchers identified a new fossil species, Dryadithone cretacea gen. et sp. nov., from approximately 99-million-year-old Kachin amber in China. - The insect is a moth lacewing in the order Neuroptera and family Ithonidae. - The fossil’s broad forewings and vein patterns closely match the shape and structure of flowering-plant leaves.

The details: - The fossil’s wing outline resembles a leaf shape, including features that mirror a midrib and fine venation. - The team compared the fossil with fossilized and modern flowering-plant leaves, along with other plants from the same ecosystem. - Using a Siamese Neural Network, the researchers found flowering-plant leaves were the closest match. - The analysis ruled out other plant groups as better camouflage models. - The researchers estimated a predator would need at least 65 times greater visual acuity to tell the insect apart from a flowering-plant leaf than to recognize the wing outline. - The research was conducted by the EntoEvo Group at Sun Yat-sen University. - The group studies insect evolution and interactions with ancient ecosystems using biomechanics, artificial intelligence and Earth system modeling. - The article includes a full report at More information.

Between the lines: - The fossil fills a major gap between the early spread of flowering plants and the sparse fossil record of insects that mimicked them. - The result suggests insect anti-predator strategies adapted quickly as angiosperms became widespread. - The use of AI-based comparison adds support to an interpretation that goes beyond visual similarity alone.

What's next: - The finding may prompt researchers to look for more overlooked examples of plant mimicry in older insect fossils. - The study could sharpen timelines for how insect camouflage co-evolved with flowering plants. - Further work may test whether similar mimicry appeared in other insect groups from the Cretaceous.