Plant-insect associations from the upper Miocene of Lincang, Yunnan, China

Fossil leaves from the Bangmai Formation of Lincang, Yunnan Province, southwest China, presented a variety of plant-insect interactions in the late Miocene. Six principal functional feeding types (36 DTs) in leaves of more than 13 families were identified, i.e., hole feeding, leaf mining, surface feeding, skeletonization, galling and marginal feeding. These diverse damage traces demonstrated that at least six orders of insects interacted with plants for various purposes, e.g., feeding and sheltering. Furthermore, the frequency of herbivory (21%) and the less occurrence of galling functional feeding types (20%) suggested that the climate in Lincang was humid and subtropical in the late Miocene. Our findings also suggested that the plant-insect associations similar to those observed today have been established since the late Miocene, shaping both the present flora and fauna.