By popular demand, more insects in amber...

These are gnats and midges, probably extinct species,
but then again, I not up on my Eocine insects.

I continue to be amazed at the detail which is preserved here,
right down to the microscopic hairs on the wings and antennae.

The New Microscope

Got a new microscope from E-bay today, with a digital camera, no less!

Here are some of the first efforts with the camera. Enjoy!!



This is a fly in amber from our amber collection. Please note the compound eyes staring back at you from 45 million years ago. Spooky, if you think about it!



Here's a moth. It's a bit deeper inside the piece of amber, so the image is a bit more washed out.

This is a bark louse.

The magnification is about 40 times. This guy is so small it's hard to see in the amber without magnification.

And here's a video of a Copepod from the bottom of our aquarium.
A fairly common critter, but cool to watch.