3,000-year-old mummified bees are so well preserved, scientists can see the flowers the insects ate

Image taken under binocular lens, corresponding to specimen details of the dorsum. This specimen was extracted from the sediment filling a cocoon.

Thousands of years ago, a group of adolescent bees became trapped in cocoons inside their nest and left behind a remarkably preserved record of their "mummified" remains.

Researchers in Portugal reported the discovery of the ancient insects and fossilized bee nest — the first to be found with bees preserved inside it — in a study published July 27 in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.