Springtail Survey
Another from a series of shots I\'m doing for FransJanssens@www.collembola.org to establish the size and differences between the various instars of this Katiannid springtail. This one ticks another box!
It appears that as females of this species mature, some develop red pigmentation on the dorsal surface of the abdomen. This can make them difficult to distinguish from males. Others seem to develop less red pigmentation or none at all. Frans suggested that feeding and breeding instars may differ, with the breeding instars showing the red. This individual is a feeding instar (note green gut contents) but has a lot of red.
Note also the "white" areas on the head and lateral areas of the abdomen. I don\'t see this very often, but it is similar to a specimen that David (David_W_1971 ) photographed last year and posted a couple of days ago.
The only way to confidently identity females is to see the sub-anal appendage (SAA). This is difficult to see in photographs. I think though, that one may just be visible in the left-hand insert. Frans will confirm (or not!).
Springtail Survey
Another from a series of shots I\'m doing for FransJanssens@www.collembola.org to establish the size and differences between the various instars of this Katiannid springtail. This one ticks another box!
It appears that as females of this species mature, some develop red pigmentation on the dorsal surface of the abdomen. This can make them difficult to distinguish from males. Others seem to develop less red pigmentation or none at all. Frans suggested that feeding and breeding instars may differ, with the breeding instars showing the red. This individual is a feeding instar (note green gut contents) but has a lot of red.
Note also the "white" areas on the head and lateral areas of the abdomen. I don\'t see this very often, but it is similar to a specimen that David (David_W_1971 ) photographed last year and posted a couple of days ago.
The only way to confidently identity females is to see the sub-anal appendage (SAA). This is difficult to see in photographs. I think though, that one may just be visible in the left-hand insert. Frans will confirm (or not!).