Dominican Amber
Item 55
24 millionyears ago, inside the sticky resin, air bubbles appeared. It looks like those air bubbles organic material inside them. The bubbles appear to be polar, with a dark side and a light side. Quite an affect. Cool piece.
Scanned Image!
Item 56
Great piece of amber, very clear, great color that has a single and fairly large, mite. The mite looks like it is carrying an air bubble on its back.
Item 57
You know what I like about this.........you can see the pattern on the animal's wings. How cool. You would think that after 24 million years, the pattern would be gone, but it is not. This is a planthopper, Homoptera, Delphacidae and also 1 fly, Brachycera.
Scanned Image!
Item 58
Here is something you do not see very often. This is a queen ant. These are obviously very rare (the third I have ever found). The queen is difficult to see because of the layering of the resin flows - but she is there.
Item 59
This is a flat and thin piece of amber. The Pseudoscorpion is a fairly good sized, that is it can be seen without a microscope (albeit small.) If you know your Pseudoscorpions, this should be easy to ID. There are regular and numerous extensions from the body (see image) that are very telling.
Scanned Image!
Item 60
This one is different from everything else on this page. This does not have any animals inside. It is perfect for a pendant........a band of gold or silver around it would be beautiful. In particular, that back side is not polished which makes the front side just 'jump' out at you - really nice.
Scanned Image!
Item 61
This is Chiapas amber (Mexico) not Dominican. The whip scorpion is one of the rarest of all finds. Tail-less whip scorpions or amblypigids are very efficient predators. They remain hidden under leaves, bark and other debris for most of the day. They come out at night to feed. Their chelicerae are modified into strong, spine-armored grasping organs that the hapless arthropods would find nearly inescapable. Their front pair of legs, in contrast, are long and slender, obviously modified for sensory functions. Lacking any type of tail appendage, these formidable creatures are not frequently encountered. The females carry their eggs in a sac attached to the under-surface of the abdomen by a few silken threads.
This particular specimen has a fracture running through the animal. This is a natural fracture and not glued or put back together by a human. In fact it is this fracture that makes it an affordable item. Otherwise see number 21 on this page. This is a very rare specimen. The price is phenomenal.
Item 62
Nice sized piece with about 4 platypodid beetles, Coleoptera, Platypodidae. There are many ancient air bubbles, enough that the piece is a bit cloudy. These beetles dig in wood, and there are some cool areas that should wood 'slivers' scattered around. Also there is a small wasp.
Item 63
A large piece of amber with a medium sized spider and also a small spider (male and female?). The medium sized spider is on the side of the amber. A bit cloudy due to the number of 20 million year old air bubbles.
Item 64
I consider this one unusual. No animals inside, but a botanical curiosity. This could be part of a stem or petiole or something similar. I must admit when I first saw this, it looked like a bone of the hand (phalanges) - it is not, but you might see how I was initially fooled.
Item 65
14.2 grams of pure Dominican amber (large). It has a flower from a royal palm, Palmae, Roystonea. The flower is difficult to see from all sides, since there are air bubbles and such blocking the view, but when you do see it - wow. I have only run into a small number of these flowers in 20 years. There is a cool tube with air bubbles going through the amber. Off to the side there are some crane fly legs. Finally there is a fly at the top of the flower.
Item 66
Nice sized piece with a small/medium sized spider. The piece is clear and good. Sometimes the images I take make specimens look 'cooler' than they are, this might be that case.
Item 67
A rather good sized piece of amber with a lot in it. First, there are air bubbles which makes the viewing difficult. There are some winged termites (and some extra wings scattered around) and a leafhopper, Homoptera,
Item 68
Small cab with a great bristletail, Archegonia. This is a rather rare specimen in amber, very infrequently found. In particular, this is a small specimen.
Item 69
Item 70
Irregularly shaped piece of amber (it has polished bumps). This contains an unknown fly, a barklice, Pscoptera (even shows a wing pattern after 20 million years) a parasitic wasp, a couple of very small unknowns and finally a good sized, neat looking mite.
Item 71
Item 72
Two spiders in this large chunk of amber. One spider is in the dead center (once pictured at the left) and the other is off center. The off center is the interesting spider. I should know the family of this spider, but cannot recall it it. Unusual, with large pedipalps................really cool.`
Scanned Image!
Item 73
This piece has two great animals. First, there is a planthopper, I think in the family Deliphidae, Homoptera. What just gets me every time is that you can see the wing pattern on this 20 million year old animal. Totally amazing. Right next to the planthopper is a small spider - almost as if the spider is jumping on the planthopper (it is not....). The entire piece would make a lovely pendant.
Item 74
Nice cricket, Orthoptera and 2 others - an unknown beetle and unknown Dipteran. Nice sized piece of amber, good for someone's collection.
Scanned Image!
Item 75
Item 76
A very nice piece of Dominican amber. Not large, but clear and fun to look at. Among the organic debris, there is a worker termite, Isoptera.
Item 77
Hard to know where to start with this magnificent piece. There are a few midges, Diptera, Chironomidae, flies, Brachycera, a large springtail, Collembola and even a large spider. Scattered around are legs that appear to have come off a crane fly. Also close to the middle is a stingless tropical bee, Hymenoptera. There is one fly near the middle that stands out from the crowd. The details on the head are out of this world. You can see the facets of the eye as though 'he' died yesterday. This would make a beautiful picture to go along with the large chunk of amber. Quite the piece.
Item 78
This is a rare piece. It is small, but the cockroach inside is large. A particularly well shaped nymph is struggling in this resin before it met its demise. Good piece. There is a small leaf beetle also. The specimen is good.
Item 79
A nice tropical stingless bee, Hymenoptera, Meliponini, genus Problebeia. The amber is large and has the bee close to the middle. There are also many ancient air bubbles in this chunk. Chances are the original ancient air is still there.
Item 80
Just a great cricket, Orthoptera jumping along a sea of 25 million year old air bubbles. Easy to see with some great detail about the animal. Good price for a cricket. There are two fungus gnats on the other side, Diptera, Mycetophilidae.
Item 81
This Dominican amber is cloudy from debris on the forest floor. But inside it, you can see 2 bristletails, Thysanura, a female worker ant, Nymenoptera:Formicidae and a large fly, Brachycera.
Item 82
I like this one - it is large and VERY clear. While there are no animals inside, there are a number of black air bubbles. Probably this is from air bubbles that contain organic mater from the ground under the trees. This is a nice piece.
Item 83
Maybe not the clearest piece, but it does have some good stuff inside. There are some platypodid beetles, Coleoptera, Platypodidae along with female worker ants, Hymenoptera, Formicidae, a gall gnat, Diptera, Cecidomyiidae and even an unknown (maybe some type of weevil?). Finally there is part of a branching set of leaves.
Item 84
Big piece of amber, 31 grams. There is a flat footed ambrosia beetle, Coleoptera, Platypodidae and a moth fly, Diptera, Psychodidae. Finally there is a nice, small wasp. Also there are number wood plugs from the ambrosia beetles. Not much else. I would recommend you purchase this because of the size, not the animals.
Item 85
This is a good piece with great clarity throughout. The pseudoscorpion is next to some debris on the side of the piece. While not large, the little guy is just right. This is a nice addition for anyone's collection.
Item 86
There are some good looking long legged flies flies in this piece, Diptera, Dolichopodidae. There is also a black scavenger fly, Diptera, Scatopsidae and a worker ant, Hymenoptera, Formicidae.
Item 87
Here it is. There is a difficult to see, tropical stingless bee, Hymenoptera, Meliponini and part of a spider's web. There is also single bract from the covering of what may be a flower. The web appears to be dragged though the amber, but you can ID it definitely as a spider's web. The sticky globules are visible on many parts.
Item 88
A comb-clawed beetle, Alledulidae. Nice piece of amber, the beetle
is near a fracture, but still can be seen.
Item 89
Floral parts - parts of flowers, stems, you name it. Actually I think this is part of a flower. Nice piece of amber.
Item 90
Isopods have seven pairs of legs, corresponding to the last seven thoracic segments. They dwell in damp environments such as river banks or beaches, or inhabit tree stumps and humus.
Item 91
This is a small and flat piece of amber with the Pseudoscorpion on the edge, which makes it difficult to photograph well. The are numerous surface glazing, but the animal is good.
Item 92
Item 93
Item 94
Unusual specimen. It has many bugs, but none that we can ID. The one of interest is the one near the edge which reminds me of a squid.
Item 95
This has a cab shape to it with some stress lines in the amber. This does contain an unusually large midge, Diptera, Chironomidae.
Item 97
A lot here -there is a mite, 2 wasps, Hymenoptera, a scuttle fly and what looks like a piece of wood. Interesting piece of amber.
Item 98
Rarely seen on planthoppers is a brush tail on this little guy. The young produce a tail of long wax filaments from an area near the tip of the abdomen. Being 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 now 'tail-less" planthopper darts away. This is a good specimen.
Item 100
Nice and clear piece of Dominican amber. Inside is a single tropical stingless bee, Hymenoptera, family Apidae:Meliponini, genus Proplebeia, species, dominicana.
Item 102
If you like termites, this one is for you. There are a bunch of termites at both end of the piece. Easily seen and they all are with wings. There is one wasp, Hymenoptera, mixed in with these wood eating animals.
Item 103
Hang on to your hat, this has so much stuff in it, I had a hard time figuring out what to put as the first picture. As you can see, a cockroach, Blattidae. The roach even has the marking on the head after 24 million years - unbelievable and beautiful. This has a rare bristletail, Thysanura, a beetle larvae, female worker ant, Hymenoptera, Formicidae, wasp, Hymenoptera, a planthopper, probably Issidae and a midge, Diptera, Chironomidae. You will love looking at this.
SOLD
Item 104
Close to the center is a 'fly' with beautiful details on the wings. You can see the original pattern on this one. I am not sure what it is, so I am not going to guess. I can say it is a beautiful animal. There are others: a small spider and what looks like a male mosquito.
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