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Collembola, showing its eversible vesicle cleaning tubes, these multi-function extrudable 'appendages', are used for cleaning the body surface with hemolymph fluid, (which is like the invert equivalent to blood plasma), and the absorption of water and ion transport for osmoregulation, adhering to surfaces, and potentially for releasing pheromones and aiding in mating displays...
Wish I got better some shots of this little fella.
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.
Single image @ 5-6X magnification
As the weather was far from ideal we elected to head to Swell Woods for the smaller things.
We found lots of springtails and slime moulds when kept us out of trouble for a few hours!
The last image I posted featured a male of the Katiannid springtail currently referred to as Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov.. The males are characterized by red pigment on the dorsal surface. I went looking for more individuals in the garden this morning and found these two. These are mature females; both lacking the red pigmentation. The only orangey/red areas are those at the base of the various trichobothria and a few small areas on the head. The trichobothria (or is it bothriotricha?) are sensory organs.
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped. Both these individuals a little over 1mm.
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.
Dicyrtomina saundersi - Thanks to Frans Janssens for the ID.
This is the second video from yesterdays shoot that I did, although the establishing shots are from Helen's Nikon P300. We've been out again today and I can promise you that Helen has some amazing footage on the way!
Who says that bugs are dirty :-). This Globular Springtail takes personal grooming very seriously and even has a built in vacuum cleaner nozzle to deal with those extra stubborn stains.
From reading the words of those far more knowledgable than us, we've deduced that the amazing nozzle that appears 2 thirds of the way through the video is it's ventral tube.
According to Steve Hopkins (Reading University) paper on Collembola
"All Collembola have a ventral tube that consists of eversible sacs derived from a pair of appendages on the first abdominal segment. This organ is extremely important in fluid balance but can also function as a sticky appendage to enable springtails to adhere to slippery surfaces. In some species, the vesicles of the ventral tube may extend more than twice the length of the body and be used for self-righting after a jump. Lubbock introduced the scientific name for springtails in 1873 (2). He rightly considered the ventral tube to be the most characteristic feature of the group and gave them the name Collembola based on the Greek Colle (= glue) and embolon (= piston).
Incredible stuff.
The Music is courtesy of Tony Haven www.tonyhaven.com/
Springtail family outing. Springtails grazing on the shaded lip of a clay pot. Focus stacked using zerene
One of today's examples of the Katiannid springtails that I've been photographing and measuring for FransJanssens@www.collembola.org. Again, an example that doesn't disappoint!
OK, a dark specimen with orange/red colouration on the dorsal surface of the abdomen. But is it a male or a female?
- Length is ~1.25 mm. Not particularly helpful in this instance.
- Anal valves (abdo. 6) are dark. In females, they are often non-pigmented or noticeably pale
- There appears to be a sub-anal appendage (SAA) in view but I could be wrong.
If I'm correct on the SAA, then this is a red-backed female Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov with a dark abdo. 6 (final abdominal segment).
I did try to focus on the rear part of the abdomen in some shots to see if I could get a SAA in focus. It seems incredible that I'm attempting to photograph particular "hairs" on a springtail's backside!
A shot from a recent springtail safari
This is the first time I have seen so many of these little purple guys who I think may be Vertagopus arboreus
A juvenile instar of ~0.65mm; perhaps instar 3? I'm keeping my eyes peeled for these early instar individuals, but not seeing many around at the moment.
[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.]
Not much in the way of Springtails today, probably too dry but did see quite a lot of these Springtails - Entomobrya unostrigata, it was bright and sunny but very windy
I went back to the walled garden at Weston Park again today, looking for the "Dark-tailed" Katiannids that I've been seeing there recently. Couldn't find any sadly. There were lots of other globular springtails there though, so here's a selection.
1. Sminthurinus aureus, possibly the reticulata form. ~0.50 mm.
2. Sminthurinus aureus, possibly the reticulata form. ~0.55 mm.
3. Sminthurinus elegans, ~0.65 mm.
4. Sminthurinus aureus, ~0.55 mm.
5. Sminthurinus aureus, ~0.65 mm.
6. Sminthurinus aureus dark form, ~0.90 mm. Is it me, or can these forms get much bigger than the "typical" yellow forms?
7. Sphaeridia pumilis, ~0.40 mm or a little less.
8. Sminthurinus elegans, ~0.75 mm.
Canon 5D Mk III + MP-E lens (at 5x magnification) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + YN24EX flash. All images heavily cropped.
I have uploaded these two shots because this is one of the very few times i have come across Collembola with green in it's surroundings. This specimen is doing it's usual spiderman performance as he is walking on the side of a bench and the background is actually grass down on the floor.