Dominican Amber
Item 1
We have recently come across 2 gorgeous pendants. They are both about 2 inches long and about 1 inch wide. They have the most unbelievable swirls I have ever seen. They both have caps of 24K gold. Almost identical, we want to sell them together. The price is good and they would make just beautiful gifts to 2 women.
Item 2
The details of the fly are just outstanding. The mouth is very definitive - this is just a great specimen. This is a good sized fly in a beautiful piece of amber. The definitions on all parts of the fly are out of this world.
Item 3
Item 6
Rather a large chunk of amber/rock from the LaToca mines. This 4 pound 11 ounce giant has many pieces of good sized amber in the rock. Cool piece, large and heavy, showing in-situ amber - VERY unusual.
Item 7
I love this piece. I get a kick out of looking at organic debris and air bubble without a microscope. This has everything. It even has a couple of worker termites, Isoptera to boot. A very fun piece - just think about the 'ancient air' that has been trapped for 24 million years.
Item 8
Very clear piece with a fat lauxaniid fly, Diptera, Lauxaniidae. There are a couple of midges, Chironomidae. There are a few surface cracks on this piece.
Item 9
An interesting pendant. 35 grams and about 2.5 x 1.5 inches in size. Lots of interesting forest floor debris inside, no insects, but what a 'looker'. And yes, the silver is 925 silver (pure, but non-tarnishing silver).
Item 10
Here is a pseudoscorpion. Pseudoscorpions are very small - this being no exception. They are very uncommon in amber and command the highest of prices. This one is at the edge of the small piece of very clear amber, and is complete. It does not show hardly at all on the scan. Since is a pseudoscorpion all by itself on this page - the price is VERY good for this specimen! The amber is a round cab shape.
Item 11
A small parasitic wasp, Hymenoptera and two really cool looking, collapsed air bubbles. Just think these bubbles contain air from 24 million years ago.
Item 12
This is an interesting piece. It contains an interesting crane fly. I am sure this is a crane fly, Tipulidae even though some of the body parts are distorted. There are a few flies, Diptera, Brachycera, with good details about them. One fly is near a plant part. This is a fun piece to look at under the microscope.
Item 13
An interesting piece. If your are a purest, then you may not like this. The large cricket inside is not complete. That said, the outline of this giant is there! There is a fly, Diptera, a wasp, Hymenoptera and 2 large fungus gnats, Mycetophilidae.
Item 15
Inside this amber is a gall midge, Diptera, Cecidomyiidae. The wings are unusual since they are darkened. I am assuming that the darkening is not real, but an artifactual in nature.
Item 16
Smallish, dark piece that contains a tropical stingless bee, Hymenoptera, family Meliponini, genus Proplebea, species, dominicana.
Item 17
Every once in a while, a piece comes along that has 'that special quality' unto itself. This is a medium to small sized piece, very clear with 2 beautiful, small, female worker ants, Hymenoptera, Formicidae.
Item 18
A nice planthopper, Homoptera, Cixiidae. These feed on plants and cause damage by sucking their juices or cutting leaves for storing their eggs. There is a large springtail, Collembola at the anterior end of the planthopper.
Item 19
Clear piece that has a gall midge, Diptera, Cecidomyiidae - that is the smaller animal, the larger is probably a fly. A very small part has chipped of giving an edge and rough appearance.
Item 20
Large Dominican pendant that has part of a 20 million year old forest floor inside. There are some small animals, at least 2 springtails, Collembola, a primitive fly, Nematocera. Parts of leaves and wood debris are scattered around this. Really this and the one below are cool.
Scanned Image!
Item 21
Like the one above, this has remnants of the forest floor that was 20 million years old. This does have wood bits, leaves and a lot of spider webs. Fun to think about. There is a beetle larvae and what looks like a true bug.
Item 22
Here you will find a winged termite in all it's glory. There is even another pair of wings next to the unlucky fellow who died 24 million years ago.
Item 23
A very clear cabochon with a single, well preserved true midge, family Chironomidae. I think this is a male gnat - good details on him.
$28
Item 24
There is a winged termite at one side and the other has part of a leaf. Darkish piece that also has a barklouse, Psocoptera.
Item 25
I love pieces like this. There is a small gnat, nothing big......... but when you look around you can see the remains of a spider web. Very cool.
Item 26
I am not sure where to start when I describe this specimen. It has 2 honey bees. As you may know stingless bee's in Dominican amber are not uncommon, honey bees are so rare - I have only seen one other in my lifetime. There is also a beetle - but with 2 honey bees, the beetle is not the attraction. I do not know about honey bees since I have only seen one - maybe this is a new species - not an outlandish idea. For the right person, this would be the highlight of one's collection. This is a rare specimen!
Item 27
Pretty sure this is a phantom midge, Diptera, Chaoboridae. In fact there are 3 of them in the piece. I have not seen these before.
Item 28
This piece screams make me into a pendant". Perfect shape and perfect clarity. There is a planthopper, Homoptera, Fulgoridea. The wings of the planthopper still show it's patterns. Also there is a moth fly and part of a spider web going across the piece.
Scanned Image!
Item 29
This is one that reminds me of the 'Stay Puff Marsh Mellow Man". It has a nice worker termite in it. In the intestines of termites are many bacteria and protozoans. When the animal becomes stuck in the resin and dies, the micro biome still lives for a while and emits carbon dioxide - which you can see the resulting bubbles around the animal. This particular piece even has a moving air bubble which means that there is probably water inside - 20 million year old water. This is a fun piece.
Item 30
This is another one of the rare pieces that you can see and feel amber 'in-situ' - that is, is the matrix of the rock. Large chunk of amber in this 1 pound giant. It is a good piece.
