View allAll Photos Tagged springtail
A few days after my return from Malaysia I have edited pictures of a nice red springtail.
Pictures taken by CANON EOS 5D mark II + CANON MP-E65 + flash + plastic diffuser.
Springtail of genus Protaphorura (Collembola: Onychiuridae). Details of unknown sensory organ just above the left antenna.
One from today's springtail hunt at the local churchyard. I think this might be Monobella grassei, but I haven't seen one of these before. Also, the NBN distribution maps do not show this in Warwickshire.
I remembered reading that the Family Neanuridae (to which Monobella belongs) have a pointed mouth cone, so I've embedded a selection from another shot which shows this.
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm (at 5x) + 1.4x Extender + 36mm extension tube + MT24-EX Flash. Cropped a bit.
I'd added a complete set (68mm) of extension tubes to my MP-E 65mm lens, hoping to find some Sminthurinus springtails. The first springtail I encountered though, was this Dicyrtomina saundersi. I could see that its furca was extended, so thought it would be an interesting subject. I got eight shots at F6.3, but the flash didn't fire on one. Nontheless, I combined them in Zerene Stacker and it worked out quite well
I wasn't sure what was going on here, and wondered whether the springtail was in pre-moult? Not only is the furca extended, but an everted collophore vesicle is also visible. It was still alive and was making slight movements. The truth is likely to be much less pleasant! (Please see Frans Janssens' comments below).
Canon 1D3 + MP-E 65mm Macro (at x5) + 68mm of extension tubes + MT24-EX Flash.
Before we moved recently, I used to visit the local village churchyard most days, looking for invertebrates. Since moving, opportunities have been fewer, but I did manage a trip today. I'm pleased I went. I found several interesting invertebrates in leaf litter, including this globular springtail.
This was a very small individual (around 0.6mm) and it exhibits interesting colouration. It could perhaps, be a pale form of Sminthurinus igniceps; I'm not sure. Interesting though, is the "moustache"-shaped area of pigmentation on the lower "face". This is typically seen in Sminthurinus elegans but not in Sminthurinus igniceps. Interesting!
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm (at x5) + 2x Tele-extender + MT24-EX Twinlite flash.
Another species of collembola Xenylla sp I have spotted in my garden on the surface of some water in a flower pot.
Sorry about all the pics of globular springtails but I love these things :). About 1.7mm body length
A mature individual from my local colony of a "novel" globular springtail. This type has been designated Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov. i.e. yet to be assigned to a genus and species. I think by the colouration that this is a fairly mature male. The mature females are less colourful, often with transverse bands of black pigment spots.
This is a single shot. They are a very active species and I haven't managed a focus-stack yet!
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x Tele-extender + ST24-EX Twin Lite flash.
Ptenothrix renateae, globular springtail, on Resurrection Fern (Pleopeltis michauxiana). The underside of the frond here shows the peltate scales which are critical for rehydration of the fern and aid in water distribution.
I feel particularly excited today. Recently, at the local churchyard, I've spotted (through my hand-lens), what I thought might be the globular springtail Sminthurinus elegans. This is a species that I've not managed to photograph before. In the past, they have always "sprung" off of the leaf before I could get them in may camera viewfinder. Today, this one obliged for a few seconds and I got this, and another, lateral shot. In focus too! I think that it is Sminthurinus elegans. I couldn't see the fine mid-dorsal stripe though, that is apparently diagnostic for the species. Perhaps it's Sminthurinus elegans f. ornata. I await the thoughts of the experts. It's certainly a species or colour-form that I've not encountered before.
It might seem strange to get so excited about seeing something so small. This individual is only ~ 0.5mm. But to me, a trip around my local churchyard is like a mini-safari. Seeing this, is like spotting my first leopard!
Interestingly, I find that these little Sminthurinus springtails are particularly "sensitive" and more likely to spring away than some other genera. Today, I took a sheet of white paper with me and positioned the leaf on this. After the shot, this springtail jumped off the leaf and landed about 5cm from the edge of the paper. It then jumped right off the sheet. That's over 100 times its own length!
(Springtails have a special twin-forked organ - the furca - that is held in tension under the body. When the springtail is disturbed, the furca is released. springing the springtail into the air).
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm (at x5) + 1.4x Extender + MT24-EX Flash. Cropped a little.
Messingham - 18-04-26 - My first macro outing this year. A variety of little critters found around the reserve.
Quite a few colourful globular springtails in the garden today, all Dicyrtomina saundersi as far as I can tell. They stayed still on the surface of standing water, but drifted about imperceptibly, rendering most attempts at focus stacks a failure. This was the best I could do.
Canon EOS 5D mark III, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT (handheld, Live View manual focus).
~5x(65mm, f/5.6, 1/200, ISO 800) (5x magnification, stacked in HeliconFocus).
The Hem woods. Springtails are becoming harder to find as the weather gets warmer & (at times) drier.
I have to admit to still not putting too much effort into springtails recently. Although we've had rain now the ground is still very dry and unproductive so all samples have come from sweeping or beating vegetation. I sampled a couple of sites near Croxton Kerrial and also at Charley on Charnwood. I didn't find anything very exciting but Deuterosminthurus pallipes is by far the most frequent species at the moment. Every one of the hundreds I have found have been the yellow form - I've still only ever found a single specimen of the purple nominate form.
Another garden springtail (~1.2 mm), this one showing typical Group 2 colouring (in contrast with previous image). The whole abdominal area is darkly pigmented (including abd.6) with some distinct orange/red areas. These red areas can be even more numerous. The head is also deeply pigmented over much of the surface.
[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 sexes and the various instars. As a result of the initial findings, Frans is suggesting that there are two distinct groups:
Group 1 - where abd.6 in adults is pale and there is little red pigmentation along the dorsal surface of the abdomen, and
Group 2 - where abd.6 in adults is dark and there is (sometimes) significant red pigmentation along the dorsal surface of the abdomen..
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused YN24EX flash. Cropped.]
Someone sent me some springtails to identify which they had found grazing on a church wall. My first thought was Hypogastrura viatica but I've spent two days banging my head against the chaetotaxy and they're not! They have 111 clavate tenant setae (c.f. H. viatica: 233; H. purpurescens: 232), so H. manubrialis is a possibility but frankly I'm unconvinced by the mucro, so they're going to remain as Hypogastrura spp. However, I'd welcome comments from anyone who is better with these than I am.
UPDATE: this is Hypogastrura manubrialis.
A juvenile instar of ~0.4 mm; the smallest I've photographed so far (the inset image in not to the same scale).
[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. Heavily cropped.]