Chiapas Amber (Mexico)
Item 1
There is a short, flatfooted ambrosia beetle near one side in this piece, Coleoptera, Platypodidae. There is also a fungus gnat (at least I think it is). Good piece, the surface has some crazing on it.
Item 2
There is something special when one looks at water that is 20 million years old. This piece of amber has a hundred or so, small, dark colored air bubbles, many of which move. Just a unique piece, with some of the edges not polished - cool effect. These are sometimes called en-hydros.
Item 3
I get a kick out of amber when I see the results of a swarm of insects in the amber. Here are 1 to 2 dozen tropical stingless bees who had the unlucky event of flying into the resin. The bees are in the order Hymenoptera, Family, Apidae:Meliponini, genus Proplebeia, species dominicana.
Item 4
I've got to admit that there are no animals inside this pendant. There are some botanical relics though - some stellate oak hairs. This is just an impressive pendant at a good price.
Item 5
a lovely piece of clear amber with a very large snipe fly, Diptera, Rhagionidae near the middle. Particularly good piece with a great, large fly in it. Very good details on the 'guy'.
Item 6
A nice example of a dance fly, Diptera, Empididae, Rhyamphomyia, easily ID'd by the legs and the offset eyes. Nice example of a 'not often seen' fly.
Item 7
A think piece of amber, very colorful and very clear. Inside is a single caddisfly, Trichoptera. It might be in the genus Marilia. This is a good piece, even though the pictures do not do justice to it.
Item 8
This piece has class. It's shape is like a large, thick coin, very pleasing in feel and shape. Inside, at the middle is a beautiful winged termite. With the thickness of this piece, it would make a perfect pendant. Off on the side of the termite is a very large and dark mite - really cool. There is also the husk (molt) of a cicada.
Item 9
If you like caddis flies, this is a great piece; caddis fly, Trichoptera. the amber is small, but very clear. The antennae are very long. the amber is a long piece and the caddis flies are best seen 'on edge'.
Item 11
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 12
Soldier beetles, Coleoptera, Cantharidae. are an extremely diverse family of brightly colored diurnal beetles which are often found in large numbers on flowers. They are not commonly found in Dominican or Mexican amber. The piece of amber is beautiful and the insect is fairly good sized and easy to see.
Item 14
Cool thought here - a mammal 20 million years ago brushed up on some sticky resin and when it pulled itself away, some of the hair remained. This was covered with more resin and became amber. Ever wanted part of a mammal that is 20 million years old? Very unusual to find such a special specimen.
Item 15
Planthopper with wax filaments. Homoptera, Issidae, the young planthopper has a tail of long wax filaments. Since the filaments are refractive, they are very noticeable, causing a predator to strike at the tail. The predator ends up with a mouthful of waxy filaments while the "tail-less" planthopper darts away. the piece is small (see scanned image) and also cubicle in nature. Very clear and very cool.
Item 16
This is a very rare piece of Chiapas amber. Either one of the insects I will describe commands a very high price. Both being in the same piece (and it is a great piece of amber) is unbelievable. First, there is a female webspinner, Enbioptera. Webspinners have glands on their front legs that emit silk to line their galleries under the bark. Males are normally winged and females not. At the end of their abdomen there are two short tails (cerci). webspinners are rarely found in amber.
Second: There are 3 planthoppers, Homoptera, Cixiidae. But wait - two are mating! This is the first time in 30 years I have ever seen this. Rare, rare, rare. If you are lucky, you may find mating gnats, but NEVER planthoppers. Can you image these 2 planthoppers have been mating for 20 million years.........no joke about that.
Item 17
Interesting piece, long thin and almost tubular. Inside are a number of perfect winged termites, Isoptera, with long wings and long antennae. There is also 1 beetle off to one side. Good piece.
Item 18
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 19
At first glance I thought this was a tangled up mess of a spider's web. Now that I look at the pictures, I do not think so. More than likely this is a tangled up mess of plant fibers that may have been pulled through the sticky resin as it hardened. There are a few small insects, but they are not the 'cool' thing here - the mass of plant material is.
Item 20
This amber contains a medium sized spider and off to the side is a tropical stingless bee, Hymenoptera.
Item 21
I love this piece! It is not for everyone though - I just happen to get a thrill out of seeing spider webs in amber. this does have a spider, but it is hard to see. The web, though, is easy and fun.
Item 22
Item 23
This is a twig or long stem of a leaf. The amber is long (little over 2 inches) and the twig goes through a lot ground debris. It is a cool piece. The back side of the piece is rough.
Item 24
The kind of amber that begs to be made into a pendant. Clear, easy to see - this has a very large, sterile, worker ant, Hymenoptera, Formicidae
Item 25
A rather irregular piece of amber. The top of the beetle does go to the surface of the amber. If you know your beetles, you should be able to ID this one, I am not sure. To me, the comment that "God has a favorite for beetles" is an apt description.
Item 26
This is a wonderful cab, clear with great color. Upon inspection, this has one animal - a female webspinner, Embioptera....Unbelievable. Webspinners themselves are rare in amber. This specimen is rare. The primary feature of webspinners is their snake-like heads, with the forelegs which are short and stout. Webspinners have glands on their front legs that emit silk to line their homes. Most webspinners found in amber are male, females are even rarer (of course this is a female.) There is also part of a curled leaf in this piece. By the way, this is a very good price for a rare webspinner. This is a piece of rare Mexican amber (Chiapas). Besides all this, it has some nice tropical stingless bees and a small part of a curled leaf with even part of a petiole.
Item 27
While the scanned image does not show this well, it is an easily seen caddis fly, Trichoptera. Also close by is a black scavenger fly, Diptera, Scatopsidae, a small female ant and also an unknown. Not far from this is a very small tip of a leaf.
Item 28
Good piece with a small pseudoscorpion. While pseudoscorpions are not a rare as real scorpions, they do command a good price. Nice one to have in your collection.
Item 29
There is something cool about spiders in amber. This is a beaut. Small, but easily seen, you are going to like this guy (or gal).
Item 30
A rather unusual piece of a wasp nest. It appears that the nest was laid flat by a resin flow. But you can still see some of the sides of the cells that show thickness. A very rare and unusual piece of Chiapas amber.
Item 31
Here is a hand carved piece of beautiful Chiapas amber. This astronaut is ready to fly. Beautifully done, includes the necklace - what a gift. The carving is just slightly over 1 inch in height. The silver is pure 925 silver.
Item 32
This is a terrestrial isopod, Isopoda, Sphaeroniscidae. Isopods have seven pairs of legs, corresponding to the last seven thoracic segments. Isopods, together with shrimp, crabs and lobsters are crustaceans. This is a particularly fine example of a terrestrial isopod.
Item 34
There is a twig going through this piece. The big thing though is the ant. I am not familiar with this type of ant, the thorax and abdomen are unusual. I just do not know what kind this is, queen?
