Surprise with a piece of amber preserving 'a love affair' from 38 million years ago

A pair of termites trapped in tree sap while preparing to have sex 38 million years ago has revealed valuable information about the mating behavior of extinct insects.

Researchers from the Czech Republic and Japan were puzzled when they saw a pair of extinct Electrotermes affinis termites preserved in a 38-million-year- old piece of amber in a strange mating position, instead of lying on their sides. following each other like the mating behavior of termites today.

Two termites preparing to mate were preserved in amber 38 million years ago. (Source: Dr. Aleš Buček/Czech Academy of Sciences).

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan said Aleš Buček, head of the Insect Symbiosis Laboratory at the Czech Academy of Sciences and co-author of the study, discovered and purchased the amber piece. this rare item on an online site that specializes in selling fossils.

Researchers from the Czech Republic and Japan were puzzled when they saw a pair of extinct Electrotermes affinis termites preserved in a 38-million-year-old piece of amber in a strange mating position , instead of lying down. behind each other like the mating behavior of termites today.

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan said Aleš Buček, head of the Insect Symbiosis Laboratory at the Czech Academy of Sciences and co-author of the study, discovered and purchased the amber piece. this rare item on an online site that specializes in selling fossils.

Buček said: 'Termite fossils are very common, but this piece of amber is unique. I have seen hundreds of pieces of termite-preserving amber, but have never encountered a pair like this."

The fossil is 38 million years old Eocene Baltic amber, discovered from a mine in Yantarny, Kaliningrad, Russia.

The bubbles in the amber obscured the termite's posterior abdomen, so researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology used 3D imaging techniques X-ray microphotography to see more clearly and identify They are one male and one female.

Two termites are stored side by side, with the female's mouth touching the male's abdomen.

Close-up image shows the position of two termites, the female's mouth (left) touching the male's abdomen. (Source: Dr. Aleš Buček/Czech Academy of Sciences)

Close abdominal contact is part of a common mating behavior in termites, known as 'parallel running', which occurs when each offspring clings tightly to the abdomen of the previous one in a straight line, like a train carriage.

Mating pairs will move together in this position while searching for a nesting site. Therefore, the juxtaposition of the fossil termite pair is unusual for the mating behavior of this species.

To test whether the ancient termites changed positions while they were trapped in tree sap, the team tried to recreate the pair's last moments in the lab. with live termites.

Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology arranged for pairs of Formosan subterranean termites (Coptotermes formosanus) to walk on a sticky surface that simulated tree sap as they prepared to mate.

During the experiment, many termites escaped the sticky trap. With trapped termites, their partner does not run away but continues to move around and eventually gets stuck on the sticky surface in a position very similar to the fossil termite pair.

This suggests that ancient termites may have also been 'running parallel' in a straight line before they were covered in tree sap.

Researchers have concluded that modern termites have mating behavior very similar to their ancestors tens of millions of years ago.

A pair of Formosan subterranean termites in a "parallel running" position as they prepare to mate. (Source: Dr. Aleš Buček/Czech Academy of Sciences).

Nobuaki Mizumoto, Assistant Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University in Alabama, US, said: ' If a pair of termites encounter a predator, they often try to flee, but on sticky surfaces. , they don't realize the danger and get stuck."

He also affirmed that the existence of this amber fossil shocked the scientific community, providing the only opportunity to analyze the mating behavior of extinct insects.