100-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Lacewing Larvae Reveal Advanced Vision

New research uncovers the oldest evidence of high-resolution, stereoscopic eyes in predatory insect larvae preserved in Cretaceous amber.

Researchers discovered three fossilized lacewing larvae in 100-million-year-old Kachin amber from Myanmar, showcasing unusually advanced visual systems.
The larvae possessed large, forward-facing stemmata, simple eyes capable of image formation, similar to modern antlion larvae.
This marks the first fossil evidence of stereoscopic vision in insect larvae, enabling precise distance judgment for hunting prey.
The findings highlight convergent evolution, where advanced visual adaptations independently evolved multiple times in insect larvae lineages.
The study underscores the extraordinary diversity of lacewing larvae during the Cretaceous period, now documented in the journal *Insect Science*.