Bog beetles finally reveal their remarkable age
BBC
28th January, 2021 12:05:53
It s amazing what treasures are tucked away in the collections of London s Natural History Museum - some not fully recognised yet even by the curators.
Take the example of two beetles wedged in the grooves of a piece of oak that was dug from a peat bog in the 1970s.
The insects were donated to the London institution by a farmer concerned they might be an invasive species. They weren t, and so were put in a drawer.
Only now have they been examined and shown to be nearly 4,000 years old.
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Two beetles donated to the London Institution by a farmer were found to be nearly 4,000 years old, scientists say.
The two beetles were donated by a farmer who was scared that they might be invasive pests that might threaten crops. The farmer was from eastern England and found the two insects when he was gathering wood and ploughing. They were dead when he found them. He submitted them to the institution with the large wet oak tree they inhabited. After examination it was concluded that they weren t harmful, hence they were stuffed in a drawer.
(Photo : Pixabay)
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