For 40 million years they have been locked in a loving embrace.
The two long-legged flies were mating when they were encased in sticky tree resin, which hardened and formed an amber color.
The stunning image of the affected insects has been revealed along with several others by the Natural History Museum to mark Valentine’s Day.
Although ancient insects trapped in amber are often seen, the specimen boasting romantically engaged flies is particularly rare.
Two long-legged flies were mating when they were encased in sticky tree resin, which hardened and formed an amber color. The stunning image of the affected insects has been revealed along with several others by the Natural History Museum to mark Valentine’s Day.
Although ancient insects trapped in amber are often seen, the specimen boasting romantically engaged flies is particularly rare.
Flies are from the Dolichopodidae family, which generally have long legs.
Also in the collection are several images of heart-shaped pieces of amber.
One, from the Baltic region, dates back about 44 million years and has a non-biting mosquito, now extinct, trapped inside.
Another, a chunk of tree resin known as copal, formed just a few million years ago and comes from southern Africa.
The Baltic specimen mosquito belongs to the era of Earth’s history known as the Eocene, between 56 and 34 million years ago.
A recent study by experts from the universities of Lincoln, Leicester, Dundee and Uppsala used micro-CT scanning technology to examine the structure of the “ear” of a cricket that was trapped in another piece of Baltic amber.
Scientists were able to determine that it could hear ultrasounds beyond the range that humans can detect.
The Natural History Museum has digitized a total of 3,000 pieces of amber as part of its ‘NHM Unlocked’ project.
A new center will be built at Thames Valley Science Park and will be equipped with storage facilities, digitizing rooms and laboratories.
The NHM’s amber collection includes specimens acquired by scientist Sir Hans Sloane in the 18th century.
His collection became the basis of the British Museum, which was established after Sloane’s death in 1753.
Sloane’s objects later became part of the NHM collection.
Flies are from the Dolichopodidae family, which generally have long legs.
Also in the collection are several images of heart-shaped pieces of amber. Above: A piece of tree resin known as copal, which formed just a few million years ago and comes from southern Africa.
This piece of amber, from the Baltic region, dates back about 44 million years and has a non-biting mosquito, now extinct, trapped inside.
Dr Richie Howard, Curator of Fossil Arthropods at the Natural History Museum, said: “The digitization of these fantastic amber specimens means we can further unlock their research potential by sharing their basic data freely through our online portal. .
“This allows parties without intimate prior knowledge of the collection to propose new ideas and hypotheses to test with our specimens.
“NHM Unlocked will provide further opportunities to digitize our world-class collections and continue to reveal their scientific value through on-site laboratories.”