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Beverly The Bug
Beverly the Bug is the first and only known opal with an insect Inclusion (mineral), inclusion. It contains "the exoskeleton of a nymphal insect belonging to the order Hemiptera and either the family Tettigarctidae or the Cicadidae". It was found on Java in 2015. Gemologist Brian T. Berger purchased the gem in 2018 and named it Beverly the Bug. He submitted it to the Gemological Institute of America, which authenticated it as an "unaltered, untampered precious opal, with a genuine insect inclusion." Though such inclusions are relatively common in amber, some opal-enclosed fossils have been discovered before among silica-containing rocks near geysers, but this is the first that appears to have been formed via the erosion of volcanic rocks. This raises the possibility that, if there was life on Mars (which had volcanic activity in its past), it too might be preserved the same way. It has been displayed in the Perot Museum in Dallas, the Tellus Museum in Atlanta, and the Alfie Norvil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opal
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are considered minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt. The name ''opal'' is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word (), which means 'jewel', and later the Greek derivative (), which means 'to see a change in color'. There are two broad classes of opal: precious and common. Precious opal displays play-of-color ( iridescence); common opal does not. Play-of-color is defined as "a pseudo chromatic optical effect resulting in flashes of colored light from certain minerals, as they are turned in white light." The internal structure of precious opal causes it to di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inclusion (mineral)
In mineralogy, an inclusion is any material that is trapped inside a mineral during its formation. In gemology, an inclusion is a characteristic enclosed within a gemstone, or reaching its surface from the interior. According to Hutton's law of inclusions, fragments included in a host rock are older than the host rock itself. Mineralogy Inclusions are usually other minerals or rocks, but may also be water, gas or petroleum. Liquid or vapor inclusions are known as fluid inclusions. In the case of amber it is possible to find insects and plants as inclusions. The analysis of atmospheric gas bubbles as inclusions in ice cores is an important tool in the study of climate change. A xenolith is a pre-existing rock which has been picked up by a lava flow. Melt inclusions form when bits of melt become trapped inside crystals as they form in the melt. Gemology Inclusions are one of the most important factors when it comes to gem valuation. In many gemstones, such as diamonds, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exoskeleton
An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as " shells". Examples of exoskeletons within animals include the arthropod exoskeleton shared by chelicerates, myriapods, crustaceans, and insects, as well as the shell of certain sponges and the mollusc shell shared by snails, clams, tusk shells, chitons and nautilus. Some animals, such as the turtle, have both an endoskeleton and an exoskeleton. Role Exoskeletons contain rigid and resistant components that fulfill a set of functional roles in many animals including protection, excretion, sensing, support, feeding and acting as a barrier against desiccation in terrestrial organisms. Exoskeletons have a role in defense from pests and predators, support and in providing an attachment framework f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemiptera
Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to around , and share a common arrangement of piercing-sucking Insect mouthparts, mouthparts. The name "true bugs" is often limited to the suborder Heteroptera. Entomologists reserve the term ''bug'' for Hemiptera or Heteroptera,Gilbert Waldbauer. ''The Handy Bug Answer Book.'' Visible Ink, 1998p. 1. which does not include other arthropods or insects of other orders such as Ant, ants, Bee, bees, Beetle, beetles, or Butterfly, butterflies. In some variations of English, all Terrestrial animal, terrestrial arthropods (including non-insect arachnids, and myriapods) also fall under the Colloquialism, colloquial understanding of ''bug''. Many insects with "bug" in their common name, especially in American English, belo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tettigarctidae
The Tettigarctidae, known as the hairy cicadas, are a small relict (mostly extinct) family of primitive cicadas. Along with more than 20 extinct genera, Tettigarctidae contains a single extant genus, ''Tettigarcta'', with two extant species, one from southern Australia ('' T. crinita'') and one from the island of Tasmania ('' T. tomentosa''). Numerous fossil species have been described from the Late Triassic onwards. ''Tettigarcta'' are the closest living relatives of the true cicadas. General Only one genus in the family Tettigarctidae is not extinct, ''Tettigarcta''. Dates given in million years ago (Ma). Family Tettigarctidae * † '' Hpanraais'' Jiang et al. 2019 - Burmese amber, Myanmar, mid Cretaceous (latest Albian-earliest Cenomanian) ~99 Ma * † '' Mesodiphthera'' Tillyard, 1919 Blackstone Formation Australia, Late Triassic ( Norian) 227–208.5 Ma * † '' Tardilly'' Lambkin, 2019 Blackstone Formation Australia, 227–208.5 Ma Subfamily Cicadoprosbolinae Evans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cicadidae
Cicadidae, the true cicadas, is the largest family of cicadas, with more than 3,200 species worldwide. The oldest known definitive fossils are from the Paleocene, a nymph from the Cretaceous Burmese amber has been attributed to the family, but could also belong to the Tettigarctidae. Description Cicadas are large insects characterized by their membranous wings, triangular-formation of three ocelli on the top of their heads, and their short, bristle-like antennae. Life cycle Cicadas are generally separated into two categories based on their adult emergence pattern. Annual cicadas remain underground as nymphs for two or more years and the population is not locally synchronized in its development, so that some adults mature each year or in most years. Periodical cicadas also have multiple-year life cycles but emerge in synchrony or near synchrony in any one location and are absent as adults in the intervening years. The most well-known periodical cicadas, genus ''Magicicada'', e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List of islands by population, most populous island, home to approximately 56% of the Demographics of Indonesia, Indonesian population. Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, is on Java's northwestern coast. Many of the best known events in Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the History of Indonesia, Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia's eight UNESCO world heritage sites are located in Java: Ujung Kulon National Park, Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, and Sangiran Early Man Site. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gemological Institute Of America
The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and sellers of gemstones by setting and maintaining the standards used to evaluate gemstone quality. The institute does so through research, gem identification and diamond grading services and a variety of educational programs. Through its library and subject experts, GIA acts as a resource of gem and jewelry information for the trade, the public and media outlets. In 1953 the GIA developed its International Diamond Grading System and the "four Cs" (cut, clarity, color, and carat weight) as a standard to compare and evaluate the quality of diamonds. Today, the institute is headquartered in Carlsbad, California and operates in 13 countries, with 11 campuses, 9 laboratories and 4 research centers. History The story of the GIA begins in the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia of New Jersey'', Rutgers University Press, . Amber is used in jewelry and has been used as a healing agent in folk medicine. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin, amber sometimes contains animal and plant material as inclusions. Amber occurring in coal seams is also called resinite, and the term ''ambrite'' is applied to that found specifically within New Zealand coal seams. Etymology The English word ''amber'' derives from Arabic (ultimately from Middle Persian ''ambar'') via Middle Latin ''ambar'' and Middle French ''ambre''. The word was adopted in Middle English in the 14th century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely read magazines of all time. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine months after the establishment of the society, but is now a popular magazine. In 1905, it began including pictures, a style for which it became well-known. Its first color photos appeared in the 1910s. During the Cold War, the magazine committed itself to present a balanced view of the physical and human geography of countries beyond the Iron Curtain. Later, the magazine became outspoken on environmental issues. Since 2019, controlling interest has been held by The Walt Disney Company. Topics of features generally concern geography, history, nature, science, and world culture. The magazine is well known for its distinctive appearance: a thick squa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it is the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ''Scientific American'' is owned by Springer Nature, which in turn is a subsidiary of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. History ''Scientific American'' was founded by inventor and publisher Rufus Porter (painter), Rufus Porter in 1845 as a four-page weekly newspaper. The first issue of the large format newspaper was released August 28, 1845. Throughout its early years, much emphasis was placed on reports of what was going on at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Patent Office. It also reported on a broad range of inventions including perpetual motion machines, an 1860 device for buoying vessels by Abraham Lincoln, and the universal joint which now can be found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entomology Today
The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, private industries, colleges and universities, and state and federal governments. It serves the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. To facilitate communication among members, the ESA is divided into four sections based on entomological interests, and six branches, based on geographic proximity. The national office is located in Annapolis, Maryland. History In 1889, the American Association of Economic Entomologists was founded by Charles V. Riley, primarily focusing on economic entomology. In 1906, the Entomological Society of America was organized to address the needs of the broader dimensions of biology, taxonomy, morphology, and faunistic studies of insects. Governance Presidents ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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