Colombian Copal
Everyone should have some specimens of Colombian Copal for their collections. It is truly lovely material with a clarity that is unmatched.
How old is Colombian Copal? The age of Colombian (South America) copal still remains an open question. In fact in some papers you can find uncertain "Tertiary" age (see for example the table in Langenheim's review, American Scientist, 78:16-24, 1990), or in other papers also Pliocene-Pleistocene; accurate determinations made by means of 14C revealed that Colombian copal from the region of Santander is in the order of just 200 years old (Clifford et al., Org. Geochemistry, 27:449-464, 1997), practically recent resin. There are others who feel that certain Colombian copals are in the terms of many millions of years.
Most of the Colombian copal that is offered for sale is from the Andes Mountains in South Amberica. It could be up to 16 million years old. Since I have not had it tested for time, I cannot conclusively say the age. If there is something in particular that you are looking for but cannot find it on this page, let us know, we probably have it! By the way, since this is copal, often you will find surface cracks. That is normal.
A note for those interesting in large quantities. We have large quantities of Colombia copal for sale. Example prices range from $620 per kilogram to about $1100 (polished with good quality insects.) We can supply lots up to 8 kilograms. Let us know what you want.
Item 1
This has a little of everything, a zoo. Cockroach, flies, gnats, Bryophyte, termite wings, just everything. The more you look at it under the microscope, the more you see. Enjoy.
Scanned Image!
Item 2
Good sized chunk of copal. It has a nice worker termite with air bubble coming off the body (decomposition of gases form this). Other strange things also. It does look like someone sprayed lacquer on it so the piece did not degrade.
Item 3
A rather large piece about 2.5 x 2 x .25 inches. Clear and attractive. This has numerous worker termites and some interesting bubbles. Also an interesting spider(?).
Item 4
A lot of old air bubbles that occlude the specimens. This has a beautiful weevil, Coleoptera, Superfamily Curculionidea, what looks like a termite (not sure), 1 caddis fly, Trichoptera and an unknown.
SOLD
Item 5
There is a very large cricket in this piece. The amber is tubular in shape. The cricket is partly covered with a "fuzz" (common). This is a real nice specimen, but hard to see die to the fuzz. There is also an unknown beetle.
Item 6
A great piece with loads of termite wings - all at one edge of the copal. This has one of the most beautiful fruit flies, Drosophilia, I have ever seen. It also has a pair of mating gnats (rare). You will love this piece. I think this has a juvenile mite.
SOLD
Item 9
This has small air bubbles with makes the piece hard to see through. It is loaded though with ancient life. Flies, beetles and just a bunch more. You will see something different every time you look at it. Pretty good sized - about 3 inches long. This even has a very small cricket.
Item 10
A spider that wants to be a fake ant. Here is the piece. You will never find a cooler piece than this. Look at the image - looks like an ant, eh? Now count the legs - this is a spider, Araneae. It is an ant mimic spider. Talk about evolution at its best. This spider has evolved to look like an ant so it can pass itself off and eat what it looks like. The best example of animal mimicry that I have ever seen. This is one for everyone's collection.
SOLD
Item 11
Clear with a moth fly and another 'regular' fly. Nice piece that will not break the bank. This has a sprig of a Bryophyte.
SOLD
Item 12
There is so much inside this piece. Just a scad of flies (never have the idea of what a scad is - but it is a lot). There is a beetle, termite wings and just about anything you can thick of. This will provide a long time of entertainment under the microscope.
SOLD
Item 13
If you like termites, look no further. Not only that, but the detail on these animals is fantastic. Clear copal, lots of termites, just plain fun. There are some great air bubbles in bubbles.
Item 14
What a piece of copal. The fungus gnat shows wonderful patterns on the wings (very unusual). This has a large planthopper, a few ants, midges and flies. Lots here to keep anyone interested - and the piece is big. Not as clear as some of the others, but what it has inside makes up for it.
SOLD
Item 15
Large piece with a rough side to it. Busy, lots of stuff inside, including a good looking moth, a leaf bract, a fly, what looks like a click beetle, just a lot of fun stuff.
Item 16
This is a curved tubular piece. both ends of the tube are not polished. Inside are a number of termite wings along with the termites themselves. Interesting.
