Size reference
Source supported75 mm forewing in the focal female
O. illecebrosa type measurement; the approximately 65 mm hind wing is a separate structure, not body length. [D1]
EXHIBIT 205
Oregramma
Oregramma
Prehistoric insect
Oregramma was an eyespotted lacewing with sucking mouthparts; one female preserves an unusually long curved ovipositor. [1]
TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST
Science & the silver screen
Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.
01 / SOURCE-INFORMED RECONSTRUCTION
A life reconstruction from the evidence
Image unavailableIllustrative life reconstruction of Oregramma in a period-appropriate environment; coloration and missing anatomy are interpretations.The exhibit and its credited image source remain available.
An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. [1]
Source-informed reconstruction. Appearance evidence [1]. Original illustration; missing anatomy, coloration and scenery include interpretation.
Fossils constrain this life reconstruction. Missing anatomy, coloration and the environmental scene include interpretation; the dossier explains the evidence limits.
02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION
A cinematic imagination
Image unavailableIllustrative reconstruction of Oregramma; incomplete anatomy, pose and colors are hypotheses.The exhibit and its credited image source remain available.
An illustrative reconstruction. Compare its anatomy with the evidence and limitations in the dossier. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.
Original artwork · artistic interpretation.
Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.
PERIODEarly Cretaceous[1]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDChina[1]
MEET THE ANIMAL
Meet Oregramma
Oregramma was a prehistoric lacewing from Early Cretaceous China. A female of the species Oregramma illecebrosa preserves a forewing 75 millimeters long and a conspicuous eye-shaped wing pattern. It also has a curved ovipositor, an egg-laying structure, about 25 millimeters long. These are measurements of parts of one fossil, not a full body size for every Oregramma. Some head details are missing. [D1]
Studying related lacewings helps researchers ask how these insects used their mouthparts and patterned wings. Long feeding structures fit drinking plant fluids, but a possible use is different from a preserved meal. Family-wide discoveries must also be handled carefully: an antenna or behavior found in another kind of lacewing does not automatically describe Oregramma. [D3]
The ovipositor gives an especially useful clue. Researchers compared it with marks in a much older Jurassic ginkgo relative and suggested that a related insect inserted eggs into plant tissue. Those marks are not identified Oregramma eggs. The comparison offers a way to test an idea while leaving the exact laying site and the young insect’s life unknown. [D4]
PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER
A life in profile.
The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.
The focal female preserves wings and a curved egg-laying structure, while much of its head remains incomplete. [D1]
Profile scope: Genus — Oregramma; reconstruction anchored to O. illecebrosa from China’s Yixian Formation. [D1]
- Time
- Early Cretaceous
- Fossil locations in this exhibit
- China
How to read the evidence
Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.
A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.
Body mass
Not establishedNot established here
No fossil-individual mass is established by the reviewed studies. [D3]
Diet
InferredPlant-fluid feeding inferred
Proboscis comparisons suggest gymnosperm pollination drops; particular host plants are not demonstrated for every species. [D2]
Habitat
InferredYixian terrestrial vegetation near fossil lakes
Regional fossils and feeding comparisons support a vegetated setting; lake burial does not establish an aquatic adult. [D2]
Movement
InferredWing-powered flight inferred
Preserved forewings and hind wings support flight; speed remains unknown. [D1]
Distinctive anatomy
Source supportedForewing eyespot and curved ovipositor
The female has setose wings and sucking mouthparts; incomplete antennae need comparative restoration. [D1]
Reproduction & life together
Reproduction
InferredAn ovipositor, not a preserved egg series
Its shape suggests inserting eggs into plant tissues. Older ginkgophyte scars use Oregramma only as a comparison, not an identified producer. [D4]
Courtship
Not establishedNot established here
A mating display is not established for Oregramma. [D3]
Social behavior
Not establishedNot established here
No coordinated colony or group is demonstrated. [D3]
Dossier research & sources
Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.
- Mesozoic lacewings from China provide phylogenetic insight into evolution of the Kalligrammatidae (Yang et al., 2014)BMC Evolutionary Biology 14:126 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected, including Oregramma diagnoses, figures and measurement sections. O. illecebrosa female CNU-NEU-LB2009-031P/C from Yixian Formation has 75 mm forewing and approximately 25 mm ovipositor. Antennae and body are incompletely preserved. Oregramma type is O. gloriosa Ren, 2003. · Inspected: page
- The evolutionary convergence of mid-Mesozoic lacewings and Cenozoic butterflies (Labandeira et al., 2016)Proceedings of the Royal Society B 283:20152893 / Smithsonian Repository · Accessed 2026-10-05Full nine-page PDF inspected through the web tool. Chinese Kalligramma and Oregramma examples, wings, mouthparts and ovipositor illustrated; gymnosperm-fluid feeding, pollination and eyespot function are ecological interpretations. These lacewings are not butterflies. · Inspected: page
- High niche diversity in Mesozoic pollinating lacewings (Liu et al., 2018)Nature Communications 9:3793 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected. Family-level mouthpart and feeding variation; new amber taxa are not automatically evidence for Chinese Kalligramma or Oregramma. Male antennal communication hypotheses belong to other taxa and are not adopted as genus-specific courtship. Later 2025 subfamily doubts noted separately. · Inspected: page
- The natural history of oviposition on a ginkgophyte fruit from the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China (Meng et al., 2019)Insect Science 26:171–179 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original nine-page PDF inspected. Middle Jurassic Yimaia seed/ovule lesions are compared with the younger Early Cretaceous O. illecebrosa ovipositor to infer an earlier oregrammatine producer; they are not identified as Oregramma eggs or direct genus-specific egg-laying observations. · Inspected: page
- Redescription of Kalligramma haeckeli Walther, 1904 … allows the redefinition of Kalligrammatinae (Makarkin & Ansorge, 2025)Zootaxa 5659(1):69–86 · Accessed 2026-10-05Publisher abstract and bibliographic page inspected, not subscription full text. Re-examines the type species and proposes Kalligrammula and Limnogramma as subjective synonyms of Kalligramma. Oregramma remains a separate genus within the redefined subfamily. Interpretations retained as published proposals, not an independent expert decision. · Inspected: abstract
THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS
The limit of a comparison
A younger insect can help interpret an older plant scar without proving that the same genus made it. Here, anatomy supports a hypothesis rather than a direct identification. [4]
A note on scale and time
The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.
- Mesozoic lacewings from China provide phylogenetic insight into evolution of the Kalligrammatidae (Yang et al., 2014)BMC Evolutionary Biology 14:126 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected, including Oregramma diagnoses, figures and measurement sections. O. illecebrosa female CNU-NEU-LB2009-031P/C from Yixian Formation has 75 mm forewing and approximately 25 mm ovipositor. Antennae and body are incompletely preserved. Oregramma type is O. gloriosa Ren, 2003. · Inspected: page
- The evolutionary convergence of mid-Mesozoic lacewings and Cenozoic butterflies (Labandeira et al., 2016)Proceedings of the Royal Society B 283:20152893 / Smithsonian Repository · Accessed 2026-10-05Full nine-page PDF inspected through the web tool. Chinese Kalligramma and Oregramma examples, wings, mouthparts and ovipositor illustrated; gymnosperm-fluid feeding, pollination and eyespot function are ecological interpretations. These lacewings are not butterflies. · Inspected: page
- High niche diversity in Mesozoic pollinating lacewings (Liu et al., 2018)Nature Communications 9:3793 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original article inspected. Family-level mouthpart and feeding variation; new amber taxa are not automatically evidence for Chinese Kalligramma or Oregramma. Male antennal communication hypotheses belong to other taxa and are not adopted as genus-specific courtship. Later 2025 subfamily doubts noted separately. · Inspected: page
- The natural history of oviposition on a ginkgophyte fruit from the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China (Meng et al., 2019)Insect Science 26:171–179 · Accessed 2026-10-05Full original nine-page PDF inspected. Middle Jurassic Yimaia seed/ovule lesions are compared with the younger Early Cretaceous O. illecebrosa ovipositor to infer an earlier oregrammatine producer; they are not identified as Oregramma eggs or direct genus-specific egg-laying observations. · Inspected: page
- Redescription of Kalligramma haeckeli Walther, 1904 … allows the redefinition of Kalligrammatinae (Makarkin & Ansorge, 2025)Zootaxa 5659(1):69–86 · Accessed 2026-10-05Publisher abstract and bibliographic page inspected, not subscription full text. Re-examines the type species and proposes Kalligrammula and Limnogramma as subjective synonyms of Kalligramma. Oregramma remains a separate genus within the redefined subfamily. Interpretations retained as published proposals, not an independent expert decision. · Inspected: abstract
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