The research group of Shuhei Yamamoto, a third-year doctor at the Graduate School of Bioresources and Environmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Munetoshi Maruyama, an assistant professor at the Kyushu University Museum of Research, and Joseph Parker, a researcher at Columbia University, announced on December 3, about 12 million years ago, amber from Myanmar. An analysis of the fossil beetle of the family Beetle (Mesosymbion compactus) found inside the plant showed that it may be the oldest example of social infestation against true social insects due to its morphological characteristics. Announced.It is already known that true social insects appeared in the Cretaceous, and this discovery also suggests that socially parasitic insects may have appeared immediately after that.
Ants and termites occupy extremely important positions in the ecosystem, but the evolution of true sociality in both taxa is largely related to the background of their diversification.The evolution of true sociality has brought about the evolution of insects that parasitize the society (social parasitism), and various insects of more than 100 families in the world are evolving symbiotic relationships with ants and termites.
The Staphylinidae is a group of large beetles known to have more than 6 species in the world. Among them, the subfamily Aleochara has undergone explosive diversification since the Middle Ages and has various environments such as soil, coast, and bird's nest. Has adapted to.Many species of the subfamily, ants and termites, live in nests of true social insects, and these characteristics have evolved many times within the subfamily.
Assistant Professor Maruyama said, "The main author, Shuhei Yamamoto, has been in and out of my laboratory since he was in the first year of the undergraduate program and started his research. He is a rare person who has both a passion for insect research and the ability to present new findings. He has also been interested in fossils since he was a child, so this study is the essence of a study that deals with both of his favorite things. "
