Tens of Thousands of Fossils
in Amber Refute Evolution |
A clear, yellow amber with a large barklice in it. These belong
to the order Psocoptera, and their probable family is Caeciliidae.
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A sterile female ant, Hymenoptera, Formicidae. |
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A clear piece of Dominican amber with what may be a seed.
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At least eight female worker ants, Hymenoptera, Formicidae
were trapped in amber right next to a leaf, having been preserved
until today. |
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This piece of yellow amber has a great set of wings (maybe
termite wings) along with a wasp, Hymenoptera and gnat, Diptera. |
Beetle in amber. Order: Coleoptera, Family: Chrysomelidae,
Subfamily: Eumolpinae.
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A member of the beetle family, Staphylinidae: Subfamily Aleocharinae.
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There is a flower bud and a teneral may fly in this picture.
The may fly is very rare in amber. It appears that it has
just emerged from the pupa stage. |
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A lot of identifiable organic matter in amber: There are plant
parts, waste material and even a fungus gnat thrown in (Diptera,
Nematocera, Mycetophilidae). |
A small twisted piece of what looks like a leaf. Near the
twist is a gnat. |
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It is very seldom that one sees a leaf in amber. The entire
leaf is in this piece. |
Fungus gnats (Diptera, Nematocera, Mycetophilidae) in amber.
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(Order Coleoptera, Superfamily Curculionidae, Family Lechriopidae).
It looks like there are also many parts of a spider web. There
are also unknown bubbles, not air bubbles, but what appears
as small empty egg sacs. |
Coeleoptera, superfamily Curculionidea, Cossoninae - a weevil.
Adults and larvae are plant feeders and many are considered
serious crop pests. |
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This piece of amber has part of a leaf in it, even has an
air bubble within an air bubble (probably water that is 24
million years old). |
Moth (Lepidoptera) and a crane fly,
also a moth fly (Psychodidae) and a planthopper nymph (Fulgoroidea).
The moth is about 9mm and the crane fly’s body is 5mm. |
This is an Ichneumonid wasp, Hymenoptera,
Ichneumonidae, and an adult plant hopper. Ichneumonid wasps
parasitize living insects with their eggs, which slowly devour
their hosts before they pupate. When a suitable host is detected,
the ovipositor is thrust into the underside of the insect's
body. Apparently the ovipositor tip of many ichneumonids are
capable of recognizing various host tissues, so that the wasp
can deposit an egg precisely into the nerve ganglia of its
victim. Right next to the wasp is an adult planthopper, Homoptera,
superfamily Fulgoroidea. There is also a female worker ant,
Hymenoptera, Formicidae, on the other side. |
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A piece of amber with an ambrosia beetle, Coleoptera Platypodidae.
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A crane fly, Diptera, Tipulidae. Good wings preserved in amber
over millions of years reveal the perfection in their creation.
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In the dead middle of the clearest area is a large perfect
mosquito, Culicidae. Mosquitos in amber are very uncommon.
Particularly since the chemical attraction of resin is not
there for a mosquito. As generally known, mosquitos are attracted
by a mammalian scent - not the chemical aroma of a tree. There
are some other organisms in this piece of Dominican amber.
There is what looks like part of a curled leaf, a number of
gnats (Diptera, Nematocera), a couple of fungus gnats (Mycetophilidae),
2 worker termites (Isoptera), and a scattering of ants (Hymenoptera,
Formicidae). |
A plant hopper, Homoptera, super family Fulgoroidea, and a
small beetle larvae. |
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This piece of amber contains a male winged ant (Hymenoptera,
Formicidae), a worker termite (Isoptera), and a small stingless
wasp. |
Because it is so clear, one can see that it has so much organic
debris in it. There is a female worker ant, Hymenoptera, Formicidae.
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Amber with 2 leaf parts, one looks like a leaflet and the
other a small petal. |
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Amber with lots of organic debris. There is a Bristletail
in it. Also there is an ant, an unknown Hemipteran, and a
termite. |
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