Scientists have found two mating flies that froze in amber 40 million years ago

Researchers found in amber flies of the genus Dolichopodidae, which lived in the southern part of Gondwana about 40 million years ago.

According to lead scientist Geoffrey Stilwell from Monash University, this is the first discovery of frozen copulating insects that have been found in Australia.

As noted in a study published in Nature, the descendants of these flies still exist. They feed on aphids and larvae and live near water, in meadows, fringes, and on the outskirts of forests.

Stillwell stated that this amber is soit’s rare that it can be called the “holy grail”, because it was able to preserve the ancient organisms in a “magnificent form”. Previous samples of amber contained parasites in action and creatures in the process of eating something, but scientists did not find two mating flies.

Researchers have begun searching for insects throughout Australia and New Zealand. They said they found dozens of pieces of amber from South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, and Australia.