#FossilFriday: The scent of a 54-million-year-old insect

After discovering a spectacularly preserved specimen in 54-million-year-old amber, researchers from Germany, Poland, and India created a 3D model of the insect. The model came out so good that they could study some “pockets” which the ancient female midges likely used to collect, store and spray pheromones to attract a mate.

Today’s midges, though, are much simpler. They release pheromones from their abdomen using “evaporator” structures and don’t have any more pockets.