The two of them were trapped in a shard of amber.
This is a remarkable find reported by the journal Historical Biology: a flowering plant of an unknown species trapped in amber, right next to a partisan wasp, which is also part of a new species.
This extraordinary amber – a fossilized resin released by conifers millions of years ago – was discovered in the Dominican Republic and has relatively small female flowers, with long stems, hidden within.
Scientists were able to determine that this plant actually belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae, which includes 300 different genera, the fossils of which have never been recorded. The flower whose new species is named Plukenetia minima is estimated to be 30 million years old.
Flowers, wasps and larvae
The discovery could have stopped there, it would have been awesome. But scientists have a lot more to put in their mouths in these pieces of amber. Right next to this unknown flower are wasp and fly larvae in development, reports Science Alert. From 3 in 1.
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The cute wasp, named Hambletonia dominicana, was studied in 2020. It belongs to the family Encyrtidae, which is very tough and aggressive towards a wide variety of insects.
Better than two separate insects and a flower, amber actually reveals a true ecological microcosm. Modern members of the fossil plant are indeed pollinated today by tiny wasps, which suggests that…
VIDEO – Wasp brings huge spider back to its nest
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