How Did These Ancient Bugs Attract Mates? Rare Amber Find Tells Us
March 22, 2017 - A discovery of three damselflies in amber from Myanmar has given researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences a rare view into the way these tiny 100 million-year-old animals lived. Modern damselflies, close relatives of dragonflies, have a complicated courtship ritual. As reported by the scientists, in these fossil specimens, large spotted structures on the males’ legs would have been an aid in signaling for a mate, in a function similar to a bird’s showy plumage or a deer’s antlers.
