A shot from a macro safari a springtail

Laowa 2.5-5x ultra macro lens

Family outing in Fred and Jean’s garden.

Deuterosminthurus sp. springtails

This is the time of the year to see springtails. They contribute to the health of your soil.

I saw these many years ago and because they are so tiny you have to look carefully for them. I knew I has seen the on our daisy petals and was very happy to find and photograph them again this year.

Males and females have a ritual before mating where they head butt each other and I managed to photograph a pair doing this. The females are much larger than the males.

Photos Swan View 7 August 2026

Springtail on a water barrel. Focus stacked using zerene

A very pale individual from the garden this morning; ~1.1 mm in length. I find these pale speckled forms particularly attractive.

This species seems to have a particular liking for crevices in stonework. They tuck themselves away there and thus offer reasonable opportunities for photography. They are also disinclined to "spring".

[Part of a garden survey of the "novel" springtail Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov. that I'm doing with FransJanssens@www.collembola.org initially, to establish the size and differences between the various instars.]

Canon 5D Mk III + MP-E lens (at 5x magnification) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + YN24EX flash. Four images combined using Zerene Stacker. Cropped.

Taken in Battle Ground, Clark Co., WA, USA

Thanks to Frans Janssens for ID.

Springtail on a clay flowerpot #1

Dark Form

Another globular springtail on a fence rail. Focus stacked using zerene

Springtails in the compost bin. Ceratophysella sp.

This creature is approx 1.5mm - 2mm long. Hopefully these IDs are sounder than my previous efforts...

See previous pic for another angle.

I went back to the walled garden at Weston Park this morning. There was a good selection of globular springtails to see and photograph. This is a generally uncultivated grassy area with some fruit trees (mainly apple). The springtails were under fallen leaves on the wet grass.

Top left is a dark-form of Sminthurinus aureus and underneath it, another form of Sminthurinus aureus similar to the one I saw earlier in the week. The others are all Sminthurinus elegans (some darker than others). The individual bottom-right lacks the mid-dorsal stripe. These are designated Sminthurinus elegans forma ornata.

Sminthurus hispanicus

Another new globular Springtail for me. I'm currently enjoying a warmer Christmas holiday than I would ordinarily find in the UK, and whilst exploring I found a couple of these characters for my collection.

I was hoping for a more natural variety of shots, but these were hidden in long(ish) grass and I couldn't track any through the undergrowth so had to settle for these two that had landed on my khaki backpack and neoprene lens case.

7 images @ 6-7X magnification

Springtails in the compost bin X4Same FOV. Ceratophysella bengtssoni

Two globular springtails on a water barrel lid. Focus stacked using zerene

Globular springtail X4. Focus stacked using zerene. Dicyrtomina saundersi

Globular springtail on a water barrel

28 mm reversed - stack of 2 pictures

Springtail 2.0 Mag about 1.6mm long

Springtails on mould X2. Focus stacked using zerene

White blind springless springtail on the underside of a fallen leaf

A white, blind, springless springtail. Probably Kalaphorura burmeisteri. Found in leaf litter

Globular springtail on a water barrel. Focus stacked using zerene.

Another raft of springtails

I have noticed that the very young ones soon hide when one photograghs them. This is the same one I posted yesterday, hiding from me, under the flower! The adults seem less nervous and do´nt seem to mind. Had to get to ground level for this one!

Globular springtails on a fence post. Focus stacked using zerene.

Globular springtails on the side of my large pond just near the water line. I assume they are Sminthurides aquaticus although I'm puzzled that it is only the small ones picking each other up by the antennae - I thought this was part of their courtship behaviour ?

Globular springtail. Focus stacked using zerene

Globular springtail Sminthurinus niger. 0.96mm body length

Strange mould with springtails X2. In the compost bin

Springtails on a clay pot X4. Sminthurinus domesticus

Taking a globular springtail for a walk. Focus stacked using zerene but I cheated and merged a picture of another springtail taken at higher mag. You can see the proper size dufference here www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/11167726253/

A juvenile globular springtail under a fallen Beech leaf in our Staffordshire garden this morning.

I'm assuming it's Sminthurinus elegans. In adults, the markings are much darker. I don't recollect seeing them this colour before (but I don't recollect much these days)!

Globular springtail X4. Focus stacked using zerene. Taken handheld using a 4X microscope lens on a sony mirrorless body

Sminthurides penicillifer ssp. bifidus

Mum, Dad, Myself and the dogs went for our normal Sunday morning walk in our local Woods, we couldn't believe the amount of globular Springtails (Dicyrtomina saundersi) which covered a wooden bench, they were grazing on the algae, I've never seen so many in one small area, as seen in the last picture

Springtails on a clay pot X4. Sminthurinus domesticus and Xenylla sp.

Globular springtail on water barrel lid

sony a6000, reversed minolta md 28/2.8

Springtail Sminthurinus sp on an upturned clay pot. Down the hole in the middle