Covering behavior (actively using various materials in the environment to cover the body) is the strangest and most complicated kind of insect camouflage. Fossil evidence of this behavior is extremely scarce, so we know little about its early evolution. In 20 16, an international research team led by scientists from Nanjing Institute of Paleontology, China Academy of Sciences published a paper in Science Progress, which revealed the covering behavior of nymph larvae in amber of Myanmar, France and Lebanon 1 100 million years ago. However, the specific evolutionary history of morphology and behavior of these insects is still unclear. ?
In this study, researcher Wang Bo of Nanjing Institute of Paleontology, a research team on the origin and early evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems, based on previous studies, combined with amber fossils newly collected by the American Museum of Natural History, made a systematic development and morphological analysis of nymphal larvae in Burmese amber. ?
The research team * * * described the new genus 1 1 and new species 1 1 in Burmese amber. These new taxa belong to Neuroptera Formicidae. Based on the existing nymph larvae and related fossil data, the phylogenetic relationship of Formicidae was reconstructed. On this basis, the correlation between key behavior characteristics and morphological characteristics is deeply analyzed. ?
The results show that the key behavior characteristics are closely related to the morphological characteristics of emu larvae, that is, the key morphology can reflect the corresponding behavior. The results further show that the camouflage behavior and burrowing behavior of wren larvae have long appeared in related groups. In particular, camouflage behavior may have evolved independently for at least three times, appearing in the basic groups of Formicidae, Formicidae and Formicidae respectively. ?
In addition, the study also found that burrowing behavior is an important factor in the late prosperity of ant lions. Although the ant lion now lives mainly in arid areas, its ancestors lived in humid rainforest areas. ?
The results reveal the evolution history of camouflage, burrowing behavior and related predation behavior of emu larvae, and the correlation analysis method also provides reference for the evolution of other insect behaviors in the next step. ?
This research was supported by China Academy of Sciences and National Natural Science Foundation. ?