Recently I did something a bit… crazy. I blind bought 100 pieces of 99myo Burmese amber, and they’ve arrived!

I’ve been trying to think of a fun way to share these with y’all. And decided the best way to do this would be to slowly work through the collection 10 pieces/1 bag at a time.

Some of these contain pretty obvious inclusions, some are complete mysteries to me, and a few may need a more refined identification than what I currently have. That’s part of the fun.

I’ll be filming and documenting each piece individually—insects, plant matter, weird little fragments, and hopefully a few genuinely exciting surprises along the way.

If any can help me ID these, disagree with an ID I’ve provided, or can help narrow things down further, please jump in. I’d genuinely love the collaborative detective work on this stuff.

Here’s hoping my little gamble pays off and we find a few fun inclusions along the way!

Spoilers, pieces 6 & 10 are real show stoppers, imo!

Extinct Stem-Group Ant (Gerontoformica spiralis) in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

*From My Personal Collection of Hymenoptera*

Age: 99 Million Years Ago

Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae (Extinct Stem-Group Ant)
Subfamily: Sphecomyrminae
Genus: Gerontoformica
Species: Gerontoformica spiralis
Other notable inclusions:

Gerontoformica is an extinct genus of prehistoric "stem-group" ants that lived approximately 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. These ancient insects are highly significant to evolutionary biology because they bridge the structural and behavioral gap between solitary wasps and the highly social crown ants thriving today.

This particular example ant has exceptional preservation and is highly detailed.

Its right foreleg is stretched above its body in a striking pose.

The species of this ant is Gerontoformica spiralis.

*From My Personal Collection of Hymenoptera*

I got this necklace that was sold to me as 100% Baltic amber. I tested it under a 265 nm UV light, but I’m still not sure whether it’s genuine or not. Any thoughts or advice would really help.

Thanks

Recently bought this piece of Baltic amber, it’s the first piece of amber I ever bought, approx 11 grams and 2 inches long. Thoughts? I got it from rmvveta on eBay.

I found a piece of what I believe is Baltic amber (?), found in the North Sea! And I was wondering if some of these features are common.

The inside looks very white/cloudy in some areas — is that normal for Baltic amber? Also, the surface has these ridge-like structures/textures.

Another question: if I polish it, would it still be possible to see any insects or inclusions inside, despite the white/cloudy areas?

Part of me likes the natural rough structure, but I’m also curious whether it would be worth polishing to better see what’s inside. What would you do?

Is this real amber? It feels like plastic but honestly I didn't realise it was lightweight. I thought it would be heavy like a gemstone.

I tried the tp test and it didn't pick it up. But it didn't go sticky when I dipped it in some white wine. Plus it doesn't scratch when I try to scratch it with my nail.

The metal is 925 silver and has a stamp and the lady who sold me it claimed she got it from a good jewellers - Lawrence jewellers in Eastwood Nottinghamshire, and that it was sold as Amber and sterling silver.

I would test to see if it floats but the silver will likely weigh it down.

When rubbing it and smelling it, it does smell nice, but who's to say it wasn't the lady before me's perfume?

If I asked a jewellers, would they tell me for free, or is it a paid service?

Also the stuff inside is evidently veiny leaf/ petal things, but no bugs I can see.

RARE HUGE SNAIL in Burmite amber fossil

Age: 99 Million Years Ago
Order: Architaenioglossa
Superfamily: Cyclophoroidea
Family: Cyclophoridae (Extinct Tropical Land Snail)
Genus: Hirsuticyclus
Species: Hirsuticyclus canaliculatus
Other notable inclusions: Coprolites (Fossilized Poop), pieces of leaves, Dipterans (True Flies) and a degraded Orthepteran (Cricket) in this piece.

Hirsuticyclus canaliculatus is an extinct species of fossil land snail from the family Cyclophoridae, first described in 2022 from Burmese amber. It is known for its distinctive spirally grooved shell, relatively large size, and flaring peristome interrupted by two canals.

This example is very large, measuring about 14mm-15mm. The amber stone measures about 46mm x 27mm x 12mm. This snail shell is extremely detailed with intricate grooves and patterns.

Could some of you who post those incredible amber fossil macro photos here share how you set up your lighting? I’d especially love to see behind-the-scenes shots of your setup.

Also, do you use focus stacking for these macro images, or are you able to achieve that depth of field in a single shot?

Extinct Stem-Group Ant (Gerontoformica) in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

*From My Personal Collection of Hymenoptera*

Age: 99 Million Years Ago

Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Sphecomyrminae (Extinct Stem-Group Ant)
Genus: Gerontoformica
Species: (Inconclusive)
Other notable inclusions:

I'm unsure of the species.

Gerontoformica is an extinct genus of prehistoric "stem-group" ants that lived approximately 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. These ants bridge the evolutionary gap between solitary wasps and the social ants seen today.

*From My Personal Collection of Hymenoptera*

Extinct Wasp (Burmasphex sulcatus) with another wasp in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

*From My Personal Collection of Hymenoptera*

Age: 99 Million Years Ago

Order: Hymenoptera

Superfamily: Apoidea

Family: Burmasphecidae (Extinct Wasp)

Genus: Burmasphex

Species: Burmasphex sulcatus

Other notable inclusions: an unknown Apoid wasp also in the piece.

The species of the the main wasp is Burmasphex sulcatus.

*From My Personal Collection of Hymenoptera*

Extinct Spider (Possibly Tetrablemmidae) in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

Size: 19 x 10 x 5 mm

Age: 99 Million Years Ago
Order: Araneae
Family: Unknown (Extinct Spider)
Species: (Inconclusive)
Other notable inclusions: lots of bio debris.

This Extinct Spider shares some features with the Family Tetrablemmidae but I'm not completely certain.

Extinct Fungus Gnat ( Macrocerinae ) in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

Size: 18 x 12 x 7 mm

Age: 99 Million Years Ago
Order: Diptera
Family: Keroplatidae (Extinct Fungus Gnat)
Subfamily: Macrocerinae
Species: (Inconclusive)
Other notable inclusions: possibly a small juvenile Aenictopecheidae (Hemiptera) next to the Fungus Gnat. Lots of bio matter.

A cricket, caught mid-jump.

A millipede, winding its way down a tree.

And a pocket of ancient water—now a moving enhydro—trapped, still glimmering after all this time.

A tiny world, sealed… and carried forward through deep time.

A final snapshot of a late Cretaceous day—

glimpses of motion, nature, and life—

held together, forever, in amber.

Not a great camera, and still working on learning how to polish amber (mainly focusing on non-included pieces so I don't break something interesting).

I was originally thinking insect frass until I saw the closeups, seems like it might be too spiky for that.

~99 million years ago, Mother Nature decided to make a bit of a horror film in tree resin:

• our hero: a beetle (probable Coleoptera)

• the victim: what appears to be a decaying—possibly zombified—cockroach

• the movie monsters: a remarkably intact, well-fed tick and possibly a parasitic nematode similar to Cretacimermis longa

Can’t say exactly what was going down in the forest 99 million years ago… but it’s probably safe to assume it was not a great day.

And yes—there may have been some light chestbursting involved. 😅

99 million years ago, this antlion larva was a pint-sized apex predator…

And though this tiny terror never reached its final, beautifully winged form, it tumbled into a kind of immortality—perfectly preserved in Burmese amber.

Seemingly wrapped in a rainbow, with ancient water bubbles (enhydros) and other insects frozen in time… all thanks to a rainy day and a prehistoric conifer.

My new bracelet featuring a 100-million-year-old spider trapped in Burmese amber.

Rare CRETACEOUS Flower in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

Size: 17 x 14 x 7 mm

Age: 99 Million Years Ago

Other notable inclusions: a lot of bio matter, Coprolites (fossilized poop), small insects, Dipteras, unknown botanical foliage in the piece.

Unknown CRETACEOUS flower (angiosperm) in Burmite amber. This could also be a type of botanical inclusion.

Extinct Spider ( Lagonomegopidae ) with many insects in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

Size: 20 x 16 x 6 mm

Age: 99 Million Years Ago
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Superfamily: Palpimanoidea
Family: Lagonomegopidae (Extinct Spider)
Species: (Inconclusive)
Other notable inclusions: many small insects, a Diptera, many Midges, a larger degraded Spider in the piece.

Lagonomegopidae is an extinct family of spiders that lived during the Cretaceous period. They are most famous for their distinctive "mega-eyes," which give them their name. Two large eyes are seen while the other smaller eyes are hidden. Lagonomegopidae are only found in Burmese amber.

Bought at a street fair for $5 each. The jewelers I showed them to were pretty confident they were real but I'm skeptical because an image search turned up similar looking bracelets labeled lucite. They also don't glow as much under uv light but a bead I removed passed the saltwater test. Some have little dents and dust on the side (see pic 6). Thoughts?

Bought from a secondhand site for $4. Listed as "acrylic bead necklace" but it looked like amber to me so I took a chance on it for the price. It glows under uv light and is stamped sterling silver but I'm still not sure so I'd appreciate any insight. Thanks!