Dominican Amber - Fossil Ecosystems of North America: A Guide to the Sites and their Extraordinary Biotas - page 230

represented by a few records in the
Dominican amber.
More advanced, winged insects are the
commonest inclusions in amber. The last
chapter gave details of the modes of life
and relationships of the many insect
groups. Two families of mayflies
(Ephemeroptera) present in Dominican
amber are evidence that ponds and/or
rivers must have been present in the forest
because their aquatic larvae do not occur
in the small bodies of water which collect
in holes in trees or bromeliads (urn-
plants), known as phytotelmata. Stoneflies
(Plecoptera) also have aquatic larvae,
and representatives of these occur in
Dominican amber but not in Hispaniola

today. Dragonflies and damselflies
(Odonata) are stronger fliers, and much
less likely to be blown onto sticky resin, so
are rather rare in amber. However, a
specimen of a stalk-winged damselfly from
Dominican amber, whose descendants
today lay their eggs in phytotelmata,
provides evidence for this habitat in the
amber forest (Poinar, 1996b).
Crickets, grasshoppers and katydids
(Orthoptera) all occur in Dominican
amber, perhaps partly because of their
habit of jumping, they are likely to
have jumped onto the resin (Vickery
and Poinar, 1994). The walking
sticks (Phasmatodea, 258 ) also have
representatives in Dominican amber.

257

257 Bristly millipede
Polyxenida PC.
Length about 2 mm
0.08 in.

258

258 Walking stick
Phasmatodea:
Diapheromeridae PC. Body
about 12 mm 0.5 in long.