GISMETEO: Russia turned out to be the birthplace of pollinating insects – Science and space
Until recently, the scientific community believed that the most influential insect pollinators were found in China. They are considered representatives of lacewings and scorpions, whose fossils are approximately 165 years old. However, domestic paleontologists have discovered even more ancient specimens in the Perm Territory, suggesting that they lived on Earth as early as 273 million years ago. The results of my research published In the magazine current biology.
Among the insects found were proboscis, which are two mandibular palps that are combined with each other. A number of cases occur with such proboscis in order to absorb flower nectar, and, according to the assumption, the protomeropids found by them feed in the manner encountered.
At the same time, according to observations, it is unlikely that heavy plants feed insects without receiving something in return, in particular, without using them as pollinators. Thus, as discovered, the discovered imitations of protomeropids actually perform the functions of pollination, ahead of, for example, moths or bees, known as proboscis, in this ecological niche.