Mesozoic Vespidae

Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Workers in many insect societies interact via body contact with their nest mates, and social biting and other forms of contact may play a general role in regulating task performance. Here I present evidence that social biting affects task performance without direct reproductive conflict in Polybia occidentalis, a swarm-founding eusocial wasp. Polybia occidentalis workers engaged in social bitin...

The Mesozoic Lacustrine Revolution

The Mesozoic lacustrine revolution (MLR) represents a major evolutionary event in the continental realm (Cohen 2003 ). The decline in taxic diversity at the family level in lacustrine environments that took place during the late Paleozoic–Middle Triassic was reversed later in the Mesozoic, with diversifi cation seeming to have continued to the Quaternary, although potential biases may have affe...

Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota

Mesozoic plants and dinosaur herbivory

Thrips pollination of Mesozoic gymnosperms.

Within modern gymnosperms, conifers and Ginkgo are exclusively wind pollinated whereas many gnetaleans and cycads are insect pollinated. For cycads, thrips are specialized pollinators. We report such a specialized pollination mode from Early Cretaceous amber of Spain, wherein four female thrips representing a genus and two species in the family Melanthripidae were covered by abundant Cycadopite...