Email Print Share

All Images


News Release 08-019

Fossil Record Suggests Insect Assaults on Foliage May Increase with Warming Globe

With implications for present climate, new data links past spike in temperature with increased voraciousness of plant-eating insects

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

During a warming spike more than 55 million years ago, insects chewed large holes in this leaf.

During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum more than 55 million years ago, insects chewed large holes in this leaf.

Credit: Photo by Amy Morey


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

Ellen Currano collecting fossil leaves from a site that is 57 million years old in Wyoming.

Ellen Currano collecting fossil leaves from a site that is 57 million years old in the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming.

Credit: Photo by Ellen Currano


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2.7 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

This image was captured as the researchers were pulling into camp after a full day in the field.

This image was captured as the researchers were pulling into camp after a full day in the field. Two tents (one orange, one green) are barely visible at the base of the butte.

Credit: Photo by Ellen Currano


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2.3 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

Approximately one third of this legume leaf was consumed by insects during the PETM.

Approximately one third of this legume leaf was consumed by insects during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

Credit: Photo by Ellen Currano.


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2.4 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

An insect mined into this from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

An insect mined into this from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. For a mine to form, an insect lays an egg within a leaf. After the egg hatches, the larva chews its way through the leaf, forming a feeding channel that is still visible on the fossil.

Credit: Photo by Ellen Currano.


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (1.8 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.

This fossil legume leaf from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum shows examples of galls.

This fossil legume leaf from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum shows examples of galls caused by insects.

Credit: Photo by Ellen Currano.


Download the high-resolution JPG version of the image. (2.6 MB)

Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.