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

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.

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

One of the larger springtails (Collembola). Apparently, paintbrushes are the standard method of springtail-wrangling.

Thanks to Franz Janssens for ID correction.

Springtail slug riders X4. Focus stacked using zerene

A springtail raft stuck on a pool of water about 30mm across along with a mite. This pool is in the bung on my water butt. I fished them out after taking some photos.

I think they may be a Ceratophysella sp.

I only got one very average shot of this specimen before my flash decided to break.

Katiannidae, (Collembola) size approx 0.8mm only. Love these tiny springtails. can only see them if I get about 30 cm from them. and even at this size, boy can they spring away.

Springtail X4 . Sminthurinus domesticus on a clay pot

Lots of these appeared on a drying outdoor table. They look like Entomobrya clarki, which seem to range from sea level to high altitude. Both of these had impressively purple shaded antennae.

Tiny globular springtail- Sminthurinus niger. on a clay pot with some dewdrops on it's back. About 0.93 mm body length

I was delighted to find a little group of Springtails that crawled slowly enough for me to get a few pictures. I am fascinated by these little creatures. I think they are as cute as anything I have ever seen.

Springtail playing hide and seek. Focus stacked using zerene

Springtails in the compost bin

Bum shot of a globular springtail. Focus stacked using zerene

2.4mm long, found on underside of a birch log in woodland.

One from today; a large mature individual ~1.35 mm. Frans is speculating that there may be two distinct groups; Group 1 where abd.6 in adults is pale, and Group 2 where abd.6 in adults is dark. This is a mature Group 1 individual.

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

Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped.]

Springtail on a water barrel. Focus stacked using zerene

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

Thanks to Frans Janssens for ID.

Springtail on a clay flowerpot #1

Dark Form

Springtail on a clay pot X4. Lepidocyrtus sp.

Springtails in the compost bin. Ceratophysella sp.

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

I went back to a local Shropshire churchyard today looking for springtails for the Shropshire Springtail Atlas. Only saw one additional species, but thought I'd also try to get some better Sminthurinus niger shots. I'd seen a couple on a single gravestone previously. Well, I went back to the same gravestone and all I could find was this single individual.

I don't see this species very often, but they have always been difficult to photograph. They just don't seem to keep still and being very dark (and only around 1mm), are difficult to keep track of through the viewfinder. I did manage a couple of decent shots though.

This was at 8x magnification (MP-E lens at 4x + 2x Tele-extender). The image was also cropped by around 20%

Not only are my parents (www.flickr.com/photos/68769579@N07/ and www.flickr.com/photos/75728961@N06/) THE BEST parents I could ever wish for (giving me the most stable, supportive and balanced upbringing, but also always there for me now), but they are also so generous and thoughtful---this superb MP-E 65mm lens was their surprise gift to me today! I'm so lucky :D

Any hints/tips on using my new lens gratefully received. I'd be particularly grateful for any tips on flash, as I have only the on-camera flash (although I do also have a very old, probably 20+ years old, off-camera flash, kicking about somewhere---no idea if it's compatible with my camera).

Oh.. and Happy New Year to everyone :D

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

Springtail on a clay pot

Globular springtail on a water barrel

Bilobella aurantiaca

A tiny thing, perhaps around 1.5mm long. One of a group on a damp wooden fence under trees, who scuttled for cover every time I fired my flash, then came back after a minute or so.

In the garden early today to check for springtails for the survey. I have a number of terracotta pot fragments arranged in the area frequented by these. They were all frozen to the surfaces and as I prised them off one by one, I wasn't expecting to find anthing. Luckily, one pot fragment has this underneath it. As it was so cold, the springtail wasn't too keen to move. That allowed me to orientate the fragment and get a range of shots. Frans is speculating that there may be two distinct groups; Group 1 where abd.6 in adults is pale, and Group 2 where abd.6 in adults is dark. This is a mature (1.3 mm) Group 2 individual and as the sub-anal appendage is visible, it's a female.

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

Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped.]

Springtails at Swell Wood a few days ago. Many thanks to Max Thompson Photo and Ellie Hilsdon who scurried around finding likely-looking logs while I mostly sat at the picnic table!

White blind springless springtail on the underside of a fallen leaf

Springtails and snail eggs in the compost bin. Focus stacked using zerene

I've been attempting to photograph the various instars of this globular springtail species for Frans Janssens (FransJanssens@www.collembola.org) from collembola.org. He requested that I also include a scale bar (particulary for the juvenile instars), so I had a play with PSE this morning to attempt a method of doing this.

For springtails, I'm currently using a standard set-up; MP-E Macro lens set (at 5x magnification) + 1.4x tele-extender + a 25mm extension tube. I used this same arrangement to photograph a ruler marked in millimetres and overlaid the image with the white scale. I then merged that with a transparent layer and saved it. I can now use this transparent overlay to position the scale. I'm not sure whether there's a simpler method of doing this, but it seems to work!

This is a mature male of the species. You can see that it's ~1.1 mm long. I'll probably improve this by making a 2 mm scale as well, sub-divided into tenths!

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

Springtail X4 . Sminthurinus domesticus on a clay pot

Globular springtail Sminthurinus niger. 0.96mm body length