In small pieces of amber, researchers have found insects preserved so well that they can be studied in detail at a microscopic level. Using a type of particle accelerator called a synchrotron, the fossils can be imaged three-dimensionally. The result is a virtual insect that researchers can rotate, cut, and enlarge—without touching the actual fossil.
, one-thousandth of a millimeter. Using extremely powerful X-rays, researchers can now create digital three-dimensional images of fossils. Fossils in amber are often very well-preserved and can be studied with great detail.
By studying fossils, among other things, they try to map the development backward in time, along the family tree, to get an idea of how the first proto-insect might have looked. Researchers believe that all insect species descend from a common ancestor. Insects were among the first animals to adapt to life on land and are believed to have appeared around half a billion years ago, long before dinosaurs.
The exact timeline for the appearance of the first insects remains uncertain. Over a million species have been identified, but researchers believe there are between three and ten million species that are still unknown. Insects exist in almost all ecosystems and play an important role for the planet.
' Today, many species are threatened with extinction. The current progress in mapping the insect family tree to identify the common ancestor is ongoing.