Amber ant

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 6:15 am

This Army ant preserved in amber was on loan to me from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. It is one of the very few fossilized/amber army ants known. It is Neivamyrmex ectopus.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 6:50 am

very interesting Gordon. I have a few specimens of amber with insects, I don`t think I can get that close to them though.....

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:01 am

Wow! I would like to find something like that but don't know where to search.

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:57 am

Thanks folks. About the only way to get specimens like this is to search for individuals selling amber with inclusions. Unfortunately you have be very careful as there is a lot of fake material out there. I was lucky in this case as the specimen came from a museum.

crocoite · Post by **crocoite** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 2:42 am

Gordon C. Snelling wrote:Thanks folks. About the only way to get specimens like this is to search for individuals selling amber with inclusions. Unfortunately you have be very careful as there is a lot of fake material out there.

Agreed Gordon. There are many reputable dealers around but also unscrupulous ones too. Stay away from eBay for example.

Also, there are insects in amber, and insects in copal, a related, but much younger resin.

Here was one I posted a while back http://www.photomacrography1.net/forum/ ... php?t=4884

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:40 am

Very cool. Amazing that this has been preserved. Any idea how old she is?

Gordon C. Snelling · Post by **Gordon C. Snelling** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:01 am

At this point I have no clue as to the age of this specimen. I recall a recent incident ay the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. The head of the entomology dept was loking thru amber with the thought of purchasing some for the museum. One of the specimens was an ant, however when ever you moved the piece, you could clearly see an air bubble moving in the ants gaster (abdomen). Needless to say they passed on it.