Insects in Amber – Amber Inclusions

Fossils for Sale — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:43:30 +0000

One of the most exciting finds is a piece of Amber with something trapped within it. Made famous by the film Jurassic Park insects in Amber are rare and fascinating survivors from the distant past. Properly called inclusions, many different things can become trapped in amber. How? Amber is fossilised tree resin so millions of years ago resin oozing from a tree could trap an insect in its sticky embrace. When the tree resin turns over millions of years into Amber, the insect becomes preserved for all time within the Amber. It is not just insects that can be found trapped in amber, but often plant material including rarely flowers and other small animals such as frogs and sometimes even larger insects. This is very rare however, and many of the examples of larger trapped creatures are in fact fake-have a look at our Amber buyer's guide for some tips to help you avoid these. The most obvious thing to watch for is a very obviously posed specimen trapped in a perfect shaped piece of Amber. In reality what you're most likely to find are flies trapped in irregular shaped pieces of Amber and trapped in such a way as it is obvious that they were struggling and not posing for the camera! Have a look at what is currently available on eBay which is a great source for Amber inclusions!

Genuine Baltic Amber Crystal Gem Mineral Fossil with Insect Inclusion 230 carat
US $9.98

Genuine Baltic Amber Crystal Gem Mineral Fossil with Insect Inclusion 290 carat
US $9.98

Genuine Baltic Amber Crystal Gem Mineral Fossil with Insect Inclusion 240 carat
US $9.98

Fossil Insect Ant Inclusion in Genuine Baltic Amber Pendant 925 Sterling Silver
US $22.99

1 Baltic amber stone with genuine fossils insect inclusion
US $14.00

Single Celled Organism Inclusion New Jersey Cretaceous Amber Microscope Slide
US $9.99

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Insects in Amber – Amber Inclusions

What is Amber?

Fossils for Sale — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:39:52 +0000

Although it might not look like what is commonly thought of as a fossil, Amber is indeed a fossil. Much appreciated for its colour and beauty it is often treated as a gemstone and comes in a range of colours not just the classic amber colour. In fact it can range in colour from white through pale lemon yellow all the way up to Brown or even black. There are even more rare colours available such as red Amber (often called Cherry Amber) and even green and blue Amber. These other colours are rare and much sought-after. Amber itself can be completely transparent, cloudy or even opaque. Opaque amber is opaque because of the myriad of minute bubbles it contains.

So how does Amber form? What is it? As already mentioned Amber is a fossil. It is in fact fossil tree resin - not sap as it is often believed to be. Most genuine amber is between 30 and 90 million years old and usually comes from resin produced by coniferous trees although Amber can also be produced from resin secreted by deciduous trees such as the cherry or plum tree. Amber can also come from resin produced by eucalyptus trees and indeed many other types of tree. The resin is commonly secreted by the tree when it is under stress such as in periods of climate change. This resin becomes trapped and hardens over millions of years to form Amber. Younger resin is commonly referred to as copal, which looks very much like real amber but is not as yet changed sufficiently to become full Amber. Amber's chemical name is succcinite and the process by which it actually forms is a type of polymerisation of the natural organic compounds in the resin.

Where is Amber found?

The most common place to find Amber it is on the shores of the Baltic Sea or in the Dominican Republic although it is sometimes found in many other areas including washed up on the beaches of the east coast of the UK. Amber can be collected from these deposits washed upon the beaches but it can also be commercially mined. The Amber deposits of the Dominican Republic and the Baltic are believed to be the world's largest and hence most of the Amber used in jewellery comes from these sources. If you are lucky you may even be able to find a piece of Amber yourself on the seashore. For the rest of us there is always eBay! Have a look at our other articles about Amber including our very useful Amber buyer's guide-don't get caught out and end up buying fake amber.

Very RARE Very Large Violet BLUE Amber from Sumatra Island INDONESIA 498 g
US $15.50

12 Beetles Flies Ant Bryophyte Enhydros in BIG 359 g Colombian COPAL amber
US $7.52

5 Pieces of Dominican Amber with Variety of Insects
US $20.00

RARE Extinct Hymenaea Protera Flower Petal in Dominican Amber
US $.99

Ancient Fossil Insects 3 4 Insects Trapped in Baltic Amber Stone 40M Yrs
US $13.09

Genuine Baltic Amber Crystal Gem Mineral Fossil with Insect Inclusion 230 carat
US $9.98

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What is Amber?

Fossils For Sale » insects in amber

Insects in Amber – Amber Inclusions

What is Amber?

Where is Amber found?