Amber

• Amber is the name given to the resin that emerges from trees. The resin moves quickly and catches organisms in its path as it leaks from the tree. Insects trapped in the resin when it hardens can become fossilized.
  
  

Detail

• Amber, because it is fast-drying and traps insects intact, retains their whole structure for millions of years. This structure includes elements like wings, soft tissue and musculature.
  
  

Age

• Resin that becomes amber is itself fossilized, a process that takes millions of years to accomplish. Most insect fossils found in amber come from the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods.