A tiny juvenile-stage grasshopper nymph, approximately 4-5 mm in length, is nearly hidden within the amber matrix surrounding it. Over time, infiltrated and chemically transformed by the physical and chemical processes involved in amber resin formation, the grasshopper assumes both the golden color and consistency of the material in which it is embedded. Key structural features like the eye, legs, antenna, plate-like thorax, and even a cercal appendage at the end of the abdomen are well-preserved and can still be easily identified in the photograph shown, but the insect was very hard to detect without close inspection of the amber it was hiding within. Found in Baltic amber, this specimen is at least 30-35 million years old. photo ©2000 Mark Meyer/3dotstudio -- all rights reserved