Fossils in Myanmar amber demonstrate the diversity of anti-predator strategies of Cretaceous holometabolan insect larvae
Carolin Haug,
Joachim T. Haug,
Gideon T. Haug,
Patrick Müller,
Ana Zippel,
Christine Kiesmüller,
Joshua Gauweiler,
Marie K. Hörnig
Affiliations
Carolin Haug
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; GeoBio-Center at LMU, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany
Joachim T. Haug
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; GeoBio-Center at LMU, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany
Gideon T. Haug
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
Patrick Müller
Kreuzbergstr. 90, 66482 Zweibrücken, Germany
Ana Zippel
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
Christine Kiesmüller
University of Greifswald, Zoological Institute and Museum, Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, Soldmannstr. 23, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
Joshua Gauweiler
University of Greifswald, Zoological Institute and Museum, Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, Soldmannstr. 23, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
Marie K. Hörnig
University of Greifswald, Zoological Institute and Museum, Cytology and Evolutionary Biology, Soldmannstr. 23, 17489 Greifswald, Germany; University Medical Center Rostock, Medical Biology and Electron Microscopy Center, Strempelstr. 14, 18057 Rostock, Germany; Corresponding author
Summary: Holometabolan larvae are a major part of the animal biomass and an important food source for many animals. Many larvae evolved anti-predator strategies and some of these can even be recognized in fossils. A Lagerstätte known for well-preserved holometabolan larvae is the approximately 100-million-year-old Kachin amber from Myanmar. Fossils can not only allow to identify structural defensive specializations, but also lifestyle and even behavioral aspects. We review here the different defensive strategies employed by various holometabolan larvae found in Kachin amber, also reporting new cases of a leaf-mining hymenopteran caterpillar and a hangingfly caterpillar with extensive spines. This overview demonstrates that already 100 million years ago many modern strategies had already evolved in multiple lineages, but also reveals some cases of now extinct strategies. The repetitive independent evolution of similar strategies in distantly related lineages indicates that several strategies evolved convergently as a result of similar selective pressures.
