The tiny creatures in question were lacewing larvae. Although adult lacewings have complex compound eyes, it was mostly known that these juvenile insects used simple eyes known as stemmata.

Studied amber preparations (top) and extant green lacewing egg batch (bottom) for comparison. Note the pinhead for scale. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of ...

Lacewing larvae (also known as 'junk bugs') have been collecting trash for at least 110 million years, making them some of nature's oldest collectors. Thousands of species of lacewings can be found ...