Abstract
Niche diversity of pollinating insects plays a vital role in maintaining extant terrestrial ecosystems. A key dimension of pollination niches refers to the insect proboscis length that commonly matches the floral tube length. Here we describe new kalligrammatid lacewings (an iconic Mesozoic pollinating insect lineage) from late Cretaceous Burmese amber and Mesozoic sediments in China. Kalligrammatids display complex configurations of elongate mouthpart elements consisting of well-developed maxillae, labium and their palps. The mouthpart lengths vary among species, from 0.6 to 18.0 mm, suggesting corresponding variability in the floral tube lengths of Mesozoic plants. With the diversification of pollinating habits, the kalligrammatids presented highly divergent traits related to chemical communication and defence mechanisms. Together with other Mesozoic long-proboscid insects, these fossils not only reveal the high niche diversity of Mesozoic pollinating insects but also highlight the diversity of Mesozoic pollinator-dependent plants prior to the rise of angiosperms.
Highlights
Niche diversity of pollinating insects plays a vital role in maintaining extant terrestrial ecosystems
One of the most intensely investigated examples of extant pollination niches is the morphological match between the insect proboscis and floral tube length[5,11]
Proboscis length can be a fair indicator of pollination niches[5]
Summary
Niche diversity of pollinating insects plays a vital role in maintaining extant terrestrial ecosystems. Together with other Mesozoic long-proboscid insects, these fossils reveal the high niche diversity of Mesozoic pollinating insects and highlight the diversity of Mesozoic pollinator-dependent plants prior to the rise of angiosperms Plants and their associated pollinators in extant terrestrial ecosystems display an important ecological interaction in which the pollinators facilitate plant reproduction and support the majority of the world’s plant diversity[1,2,3,4]. Our findings show a more diverse kalligrammatid palaeofauna than previously known, with highly diversified morphological characters, such as bipectinate male antennae, variously prolonged mouthparts and differently developed wing eyespots. These characters provide new insight into the niche diversity, chemical communication and defence mechanisms of these pollinating insects
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