News Paleontology

The oldest known pollen-carrying insects lived about 280 million years ago

Ground-dwelling Tillyardembia was probably picky about which trees it climbed for pollen

An illustration of a Tillyardembia sitting on a plant.

Fossils reveal that the earwig-like insect Tillyardembia (illustrated) transported pollen from plant to plant about 280 million years ago.

Andrev Atuchin

By Sid Perkins

- More than 2 years ago

The oldest known fossils of pollen-laden insects are of earwig-like ground-dwellers that lived in what is now Russia about 280 million years ago, researchers report.