Amber with More Than 80 Insects - Dipteran Swarm

The density of the insect inclusions in this amber specimen distinguishes it as most unusual. It contains representatives of two insect orders, Diptera and Hymenoptera, probably representative their associations in an ancient rainforest. There are more than 80 Dipterans from many families and across a wide range of sizes. There are also several Hymenopterans (ants or wasps).

The fossil ecosystem is contained in an 18.9 gram, 70 by 45 mm resinite tomb providing a surreal landscape of life once animated. The absolute clarity and wafer thinness markedly enhance the ability to view all inclusions with the naked eye.

It is in amber that once animated insect life is most exquisitely captured, and particularly when the creatures are in diverse association, as exemplified in this specimen from the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Colombia. And, among amber's, those few pieces that contain many species that at once filled their respective environmental niches, and yet together interacted in the general environment are to me the most fascinating. This is such a specimen.