Description

Dominican Amber: Blackfly & Wasp (260409d)

Age: Miocene Epoch, 15-20 million years old

Location: The Dominican Republic, a Caribbean Island

Amber Inclusions: Blackfly & Wasp

Amber is the result of hardened tree sap resin from the now extinct Hymenaea protera plant. Once a sticky sap, this substance often attracted insects, which became trapped within it, unable to escape the tar-like material. Amber first made its way into mainstream culture due to its pivotal role in bringing the dinosaurs back to life using DNA trapped within amber-encased mosquitoes in the Jurassic Park and World movies.

While Dominican amber is younger than the dinosaurs, amber exists across the world, and some pieces have even been known to contain feathers, leaves, lizards, and even a section of dinosaur tail. Despite being younger, Dominican amber is world-renowned for its clarity and light coloration, making inclusions truly pop, especially when compared to the dark and opaque Baltic amber.

While there are often surprises within each piece, we have used microscopes to go in and identify most of the headline features in each piece on our website. The best photo from each specimen is depicted alongside the description to give you a better idea of what’s in your fossil when it’s in your collection at home.

Offer includes the Flexistand, a base, the microscope image, and a Certificate of Authenticity.