More than 200 years after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s death, his curiosity about nature is still leading to new discoveries.
Scientists in Germany have now uncovered remarkable details about a prehistoric ant preserved in amber that once belonged to the famous writer, poet, and thinker.
The study, led by biologists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, shows how modern technology can bring fresh life to historical collections.
Goethe owned a small amber collection made up of 40 pieces from the Baltic region. Today, these pieces are kept by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar at the Goethe National Museum.
To the naked eye, most of the amber looks unremarkable.
The fossilized creatures inside are tiny and almost invisible unless you know exactly what to look for.
Goethe himself probably never realized that some of his amber pieces contained insects trapped tens of millions of years ago.
When researchers from Jena examined the collection closely, they found three animal fossils hidden inside two amber pieces: a fungus gnat, a black fly, and, most excitingly, an ant that lived around 40 million years ago.
To study them properly without damaging the amber, the team turned to advanced imaging methods. They scanned the pieces at the German Electron Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg using synchrotron micro-computed tomography, a technique that creates highly detailed 3D images of objects down to microscopic levels.
The ant quickly became the star of the study. It belongs to an extinct species called Ctenobethylus goepperti, which is commonly found in Baltic amber. What makes this particular specimen special is its extraordinary state of preservation.
The scans revealed fine body hairs and, for the first time, internal skeletal structures in the head and chest. This allowed scientists to understand the ant’s anatomy in far greater detail than ever before.
Using this information, the researchers created a full 3D digital model of the ant, which is now freely available online. This model allows scientists around the world to study the fossil, compare it with other specimens, and improve the identification of similar ants found in amber.
By comparing the fossil ant to modern relatives, especially ants from the genus Liometopum, the team was also able to make educated guesses about how it lived. Like its modern cousins, this ancient ant likely built large nests in trees. That tree-dwelling lifestyle may explain why these ants are so often found preserved in amber, which forms from sticky tree resin.
Interestingly, amber itself was never a major focus of Goethe’s scientific work. He was more interested in its optical properties and even ground amber into lenses for his studies on color. Still, as a pioneer of morphology—the study of form and structure—Goethe would likely have been delighted to see how modern tools have unlocked new knowledge from objects he once handled.
This discovery highlights the lasting value of historical collections. Even centuries later, they can still surprise us and deepen our understanding of life on Earth.
