Scientists have discovered the oldest fossil evidence of insect larvae with highly developed eyes, revealing that some ancient larvae had advanced vision much earlier than previously thought.
The study, led by zoologist Carolin Haug from LMU’s Faculty of Biology, was recently published in Insect Science.
Insect Eyes: More than just simple vision
Adult insects are known for their complex eyes, which help them find food, avoid danger, and locate mates.
However, insect larvae typically have much simpler eyes called stemmata, as their main job is to eat and grow.
“Most insect larvae are just little eating machines, so they don’t need highly advanced vision,” explains Haug.
But some predatory insect larvae require better eyesight to catch their prey. In modern insects, this type of high-resolution vision is found in the larvae of antlions, tiger beetles, and water tigers.
A surprising fossil discovery
New fossil finds now show that such highly specialized larval eyes existed even in ancient times.
Haug and her team discovered that some prehistoric lacewing larvae—distant relatives of antlions—had similar advanced imaging systems.
This means that insect larvae developed sophisticated eyesight at least five times throughout evolutionary history.
The fossils, preserved in amber from about 100 million years ago during the age of dinosaurs, provided clear details for study.
Researchers measured the size and shape of the fossilized larval eyes and found them to be very similar to those of modern antlions. This suggests that these ancient larvae had vision just as sharp as their modern relatives.
“This is the first fossil proof of such highly developed larval eyes, making them the oldest known examples,” says Haug.
The findings confirm that lacewings were much more diverse during the Cretaceous period than they are today.
This discovery adds to our understanding of how insect vision evolved over millions of years and highlights how some ancient insect larvae were highly specialized hunters, just like their modern counterparts.
