Springtails are small, wingless arthropods that typically live in soil and leaf-litter, but also on plants and shrubs, up trees, on deadwood, and even in ponds and rockpools. In fact, pretty much everywhere really, from deep underground in caves to the top of mountains. Most average no more than a couple of millimetres long, some a little bigger, but many much smaller; the largest British species just about reaching 6mm.

 

Their common name comes from the ability of being able to jump considerable distances compared to their body size, which is achieved by the use of a forked springing organ called the furca (or furcula) that is held under tension beneath the abdomen. Strictly speaking, the term springtail only applies to the terrestrial, surface-living entomobryomorphs who have a fully-developed furca that they use with good effect when threatened or disturbed. The symphyleones have a smaller organ that works in a different way, and the soft-bodied poduromorphs that mainly live underground have no need or ability to jump.

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The general body form resembles that of an insect by having a distinct head with a pair of segmented antennae, a three-segmented thorax each bearing a pair of legs, and a segmented abdomen. The body shape though, can be either elongate with six clearly visible abdominal segments or globular where the segmentation is difficult to see. The antennae are usually short with just four segments, occasionally five, or six [Orchesella], but in a few groups the terminal segments are very long and secondarily subdivided. Their eyes are reduced, consisting of no more than eight ommatidia, or completely absent is some soil-dwelling species. The mouthparts are variable and often complex. They have rather simple walking legs with the tibia and tarsus fused into a single segment.

 

Whilst previously classified with insects, COLLEMBOLA are now treated as a separate subclass alongside the other non-insect hexapods, DIPLURA (Two-pronged Bristletails) and PROTURA (Coneheads); all now grouped together into the class ENTOGNATHA (wingless ARTHROPODS).

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The taxonomic arrangement of COLLEMBOLA produces a rather complex classification system for what is a relatively minor group consisting of just 250 or so British species, albeit 8000+ worldwide. There are three primary orders; PODUROMORPHA and ENTOMOBRYOMORPHA that include just over 200 species that have an elongate body form, and SYMPHYPLEONA consisting around 40 species with a globular-shaped body. There is a further order NEELIPLEONA represented by just three species in a single family.

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Although it's possible to photograph springtails in their natural habitat, it can be quite a challenge due primarily to their small size and habit of quickly disappearing once disturbed, but also down to the logistics of getting into a close enough position. There are also issues relating to the equipment used and providing adequate light when working so close, but that's another matter. So, when the challenges mount up, you need to look for an alternative approach. It won't work with all species but, for surface-dwelling ones, you can take a small sample of soil or leaf-litter and sieve it over a white tray to see what you can find. Specimens can then be retrieved, photographed in a more controlled way and then returned from where they came. The really tiny species or those that inhabit more awkward places need other solutions. I might work on that in the future, but for now I'm happy with my current casual approach.

 

It's also important to note, that relatively few springtails can be reliably identified from photos. There are a few macro-photographically illustrated keys, but they're only designed to cover the common species that can be distinguished in this manner. The normal practice for identifying a springtail is to have a preserved dead specimen to view under a microscope with a process that starts by measuring it using a calibrated graticule and then working through a detailed key to check various miniscule features. I'm a photographer with a general interest in all the species I'm able to see, not an entomologist who needs to study captures in this way just to establish the species. For this reason alone, I don't expect to add much more to this section, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop soil-sampling as you never know what you're going to find, which is largely what this site is all about, hence the title 'Small World Discoveries'.

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Some of the associated 'species accounts' make reference to information resources, namely the UoR website, which relates to the University of Roehampton's Collembola taxonomy section, the Collembola.org website, the FSC AIDGAP 'key', and NatureSpot's associated AJC Springtails identification guides, all of which provide important details for understanding these interesting creatures.

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