Chiapas Spiders
This is the fabled Chiapas amber from the Mayan mines in Chiapas, Mexico. This page is exclusively spiders. For some reason there is a special quality to amber with spiders in it. Enjoy the page as you go through it.
Item 1
No better way to start this page than with the remnants of a spider web. This is a nice piece, clear with great color.
Item 3
There is a lot of debris in this large piece of amber. The spider is large - about 3/4 of an inch. While there are distractions in this piece, the spider does catch one's attention.
Item 4
I am not a specialist in spiders, but my guess on this one is the Family, Uloboridae; Migrammopes. This spider has enormous long front legs. Rather on the rare side.
Item 5
Item 6
While this is not a spider, many people think it is. I believe this is be a 'daddy-long-legs', and Opilioneae. 'He" is located at one end of the piece of amber.
Item 7
Quite a piece of amber. It is large and contains three spiders, midges (maybe a dozen flies, Nematocera) and a lot of other inclusions. Fun to look at. One of the spiders is nice sized, the other two are smaller. This even has what looks like a stellate oak hair (doubtful).
Item 8
While not a perfectly clear piece, the large spider is easily visible. This is one of those pieces that looks better as an image than direct observation.
Item 9
A large piece of amber that shows a nice sized spider. Actually there are 2 spiders in this piece, a gnat and a worker ant. This is a nice piece.
Item 10
It looks like the spider is trying to wrap up a mall fly. There are 2 spiders in this piece, a small wasp and a very small section of a Bryophyte (plant).
Item 11
The spider is really nice. Along the sides of amber are areas of cloudiness, but bottom line, the spider is soooo easy to see.
Item 12
A piece with a reddish tinge. The spider is near the middle and small. Reminds be of a baby black widow (it is not a black widow).
Item 13
Just a rather unusual looking spider. The amber is tear drop shaped and attractive. The spider, it is just unusual with some strange mouth parts - who knows?
Item 14
I admit it, I am not an expert in spiders. There are 2 spiders here - one is a male (the enlarged pedipalps) and the other with the enlarged abdomen. It looks like part of the abdomen has been cut away. But to me, this screams of a mated pair of spiders. Might not be, but it certainly looks like it. Not only is this a male and female spider, but the amber they are in is layered from many successive resin flows - a real cool effect.
Item 16
There is just something cool about spiders. This has a detailed spider off to the side, easily seen without a microscope. Also, there is what looks like a shed on the other side. A good piece.
Item 17
I love this piece. It is a spider, but it reminds me of an octopus (it is a spider!). Great shape to the amber and while the spider is not large, it is easily seen. This could be made into a nice pendant.
Item 18
This is slightly different. This is a piece that would be perfect to be made into a pendant. The shape and thickness is perfect for it. A band of silver or gold or just a clasp at the top - any jeweler can do this. It has some nice layering and shows well. On the side is a small but distinct spider.
Item 19
Ticks are very rare - and I always have a hard time distinguishing a tick from a mite, but I think this is a tick. Not only that, but not far from the 'tick' is a small tuft of mammalian hair. I think this tells a story.
Item 20
This is a large ground beetle, Coleoptera, Carabidae. They are not good fliers, but are good runners. Note the long thorax and the elytra have brilliant colors. Ground beetles lead a predaceous lifestyle, primarily inhabiting the ground surface. This is particularly fine specimen.
Item 21
A nice sized and very clear piece of amber. This has a rather large mite (at least I think it is a mite...not tick.....I always find these hard to distinguish). There is also a midge, Chironomidae.
