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I had a satisfying time searching for globular springtails in a local churchyard this morning. Here we have Calvatomina nr superba (top-left) and three different Sminthurinus aureus individuals. These were photographed at 8x - 10x magnification and then cropped a bit too.
I kept the aperture at F/5.6 today in an attempt to control diffraction. Depth-of-field in very narrow, but image quality is improved. It's always a matter of balancing the two.
A big globular springtail on a clay pot. As large as I ever find them at 2.35mm body length. 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 ?
I am very lucky to have this rare type of Collembola in my small garden, however i found a new one and few others in my local park living with lots of Katiannidae.
Another baby Dicyrtomina springtail on the underside of a fallen leaf on the lawn. Focus stacked using zerene. About 1.5mm body length. ID'd as Dicyrtomina saundersi
A large (~ 1.45 mm) mature female of Group 2. I now always try to photograph details of the "small abdomen" (abd.5 + abd.6) to help establish the gender of individuals. I was fortunate with this one. I got a shot as she went into a crevice and this show both sub-anal appendages. First time I've got a shot like this!
[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. As a result of the initial findings, Frans is speculating that there are two distinct groups:
Group 1 - where abd.6 in adults is pale, and
Group 2 - where abd.6 in adults is dark.
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped.]
Another springtail (Katiannidae genus nov.1 sp.nov.) from my mini-photography session in our Staffordshire garden this afternoon.
Frans Janssesn (FransJanssens@www.collembola.org) and I looked at lots of these last season and he proposed two separate Groups. Ones like this (with a pale abd.6) are designated Group 1. At ~1.2 mm in length, this is likely to be a mature individual.
Canon 5D Mk III + MP-E lens (at 5x magnification) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + YN24EX flash. Cropped.
Went on a macro hunt in the local Woodland today, these are Springtails but not the Globular Springtails, these springtails or Collembolan are larger than the Globular Springtails but still only about 3mm
On Sunday, after a few minutes of futile search for arthropods to capture in macro, I decided to try my luck on the micro scale... So, I quickly assembled my ultra macro rig, this time coupled with my speedlite flash, on a bracket, right next to the tip of the lens, fitted with a DIY diffuser made using LordV's recipe (thank you Brian!). Then I headed for the pond to try my luck on the water-lily leaves and was rewarded by discovering some fascinating little creatures, like this one (I also shot an aphid and a heteropteran nymph).
This tiny fella (hardly 1mm long) is not an insect, although a Hexapod (bearing 6 legs). It's a Globular Springtail, a member of the order Collembola, which belongs to a class called Entognatha (because they have internal mouthparts). Collembolans have the widest distribution of any hexapod group, occurring throughout the world, including Antarctica and they are probably the most abundant hexapods on Earth, even though they usually go unnoticed because of their small size. They are soil and litter dwelling, preferring wet or damp surroundings and the majority of them feeds on decomposing organic material, thus playing an important part in any ecosystem.
Best viewed: Large, On Black.
For more info on these amazing creatures, check out this excellent online resource: www.collembola.org/
And if you wish to see some awesome collembolan macros, be sure to check out the springtail sets of Lord V and aphid twix. Respect!
kingdom: Animalia
phylum: Arthropoda
subphylum: Hexapoda
class: Entognatha
order: Collembola
suborder: Symphypleona
family: Bourletiellidae
Petit collembole parti à l’assaut d’un gastéropode
Je ne cherchais pourtant pas la petite bête lorsque j’ai pris cette photo (je ne l’avais d’ailleurs pas vue). Je lui trouve une bonne bouille, avec ses grands « yeux » et ses antennes qui paraissent trop grosses pour lui.
Je pense qu’il s’agit d’un individu du genre Entomobrya, avec son corps velu et le point noir entre les antennes.
Les collemboles sont des arthropodes. On en dénombre environ 7900 espèces dans le monde, dont plus de 2000 en France. Ils sont généralement de très petite taille (quelques millimètres) et vivent dans les premiers centimètres du sol, à l’abri de la lumière directe, mais de nombreuses espèces vivent à la surface. Au jardin, on les trouve dans le compost, les jardinières et dans les endroits où le taux d’humidité est élevé.
Ils sont d’excellents bio-indicateurs de la qualité des sols. En avoir dans son jardin est un atout, même si certains peuvent avoir envie de grignoter vos radis. Ils participent activement à la fertilisation des sols (aération du sol, décomposition et minéralisation de la matière organique, dissémination de la microflore bénéfique). Ils peuvent aussi consommer des champignons pathogènes, ce qui limite l’apparition de maladies fongiques sur les plantations.
Ils apprécient une forte hygrométrie et s’accouplent généralement au cours de périodes humides. Les œufs éclosent environ 10 jours après la ponte et les larves ressemblent aux adultes. Leur cycle de vie est d’environ un an.
Ils ont évidemment aussi de nombreux prédateurs, comme les araignées, les acariens, les fourmis et les coléoptères (sans oublier le jardinier qui espère sauver ses radis à grands coups d'insecticide).
Sources : www.jardiner-autrement.fr et Jardinez avec les insectes (Vincent Albouy, éditions Terran)
A tiny springtail exploring a gastropod
However, I was not looking for the little creature when I took this photo (I had not seen it). I find it has a good face, with its big "eyes" and its antennas that seem too big for it.
I think it is an individual of the genus Entomobrya, with its hairy body and the black dot between the antennas.
Springtails are arthropods. There are about 7,900 species in the world, including more than 2,000 in France. They are generally very small (a few millimeters) and live in the first centimeters of the soil, protected from direct light, but many species live on the surface. In the garden, they are found in compost, planters and in places where the humidity is high.
They are excellent bio-indicators of soil quality. Having them in your garden is an asset, even if some may want to nibble on your radishes. They actively participate in soil fertilization (soil aeration, decomposition and mineralization of organic matter, dissemination of beneficial microflora). They can also consume pathogenic fungi, which limits the appearance of fungal diseases on plantations. They appreciate high humidity and usually mate during wet periods. The eggs hatch about 10 days after laying and the larvae resemble the adults. Their life cycle is about one year.
They obviously also have many predators, such as spiders, mites, ants and beetles (not to mention the gardener who hopes to save his radishes with insecticide) .
Sources: www.jardiner-autrement.fr and Jardinez avec les insectes (Vincent Albouy, Terran editions)
Globular springtail walking on damp greenhouse glass (with a milk bottle top behind suppling a little colour) when it suddenly started doing some rather odd contortions before walking off normally again. Not sure if it tripped or got stuck on a spider web tthread
A male today ~0.75 mm. I'm definitely on the lookout for males now in an attempt to see if there is a clear differentiation between Group 1 and Group 2 males. Here's a composite of three images. What's interesting is that although abd.6 is dark (like Group 2 females) there is a hint of a pale longitudinal stripe on the dorsum and a very dark "mask" shape on abd.5. Both of these are features of mature Group 1 females. Could this be a Group 1 male?
[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. As a result of the initial findings, Frans is speculating that there are two distinct groups:
Group 1 - where abd.6 in adults is pale, and
Group 2 - where abd.6 in adults is dark.
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped.]
Springtail 10X. Taken handheld using my mk2 microscope lens camera setup. Focus stacked using zerene
A couple of shots of Kaniannid springtails on a nearby church wall. These are currently being referred to as Katiannidae genus nov.1 sp. nov. until they can be properly classified.
I visited today and there were very few around. These two however, show the sexual dimorphism that the species exhibits, with respect to colouration. The males develop a distinct reddish/black appearance when fully mature and the females more of a grey/black one. These two are not fully mature, but the difference is quite apparent. Both are around 1mm.
Another large (~ 1.45 mm) mature female of Group 2 from the garden today. At the moment, I'm concentrating on shots that allow gender differentiation. The survey has shown that "red-back" individuals aren't always male (in fact, they have been predominantly female). I'm now seeking out males for both Group 1 and Group 2.
[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. As a result of the initial findings, Frans is speculating that there are two distinct groups:
Group 1 - where abd.6 in adults is pale, and
Group 2 - where abd.6 in adults is dark.
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped.]
Another of these tiny, darkly-pigmented Sminthurinus springtails; possible one of the dark forms of Sminthurinus aureus.
The way the fifth abdominal segments is fused helps to differentiate them, but I have to admit to still having some trouble understanding exactly where the different abdominal segments start and end. Perhaps one of the experts could kindly annotate the image for me.
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm (at x5) + 1.4x Extender + 36mm extension tube. Cropped a little.
Trip out this morning the my Friend Ed Phillip to a local Church yard with Ed showing me how to photograph them. So this my first Springtail image. Hope to have ID on it soon.
Thanks Ed really enjoyed this morning.
Collembola froma short safari in my garden on a cold day. First time in a while looking for this guys.
One of several large individuals from the garden today. 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 approaching 1.5 mm. This is a BIG one!
[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.]
A rather dark Group 2 female from the garden this morning.
[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. As a result of the initial findings, Frans is speculating that there are two distinct groups:
Group 1 - where abd.6 in adults is pale, and
Group 2 - where abd.6 in adults is dark.
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped.]
Globular springtail on a water barrel lid. Focus stacked using zerene. See www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/25777240615/ for a 3D version