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I'm fortunate enough to have a thriving colony of the globular springtail designated Katiannidae genus nov.1 sp.nov. in our Staffordshire garden. These have only been recently recorded in the UK. I've been neglecting the colony a bit recently (they disappear during the summer), but have noticed some re-appearing.
I checked them today. I've put some pieces of slate and broken terracotta pot for them to shelter under. On a piece of slate was this very pale individual. A good start to this season's garden springtail project!
Canon 5D Mk III + MP-E lens (at 5x magnification) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + YN24EX flash. Cropped. Three images combined using Zerene Stacker. This individual ~1.1 mm.
Dicyrtomina spp - has a solid Dicyrtomina ornata type rear pigment patch but definite yellow band at the distal end of Ant2. The molecular data supports D. ornata and D. saundersi as separate species, but presumably that was derived from "typical" specimens. I seem to be seeing more of these intergrades - are they hybrids? Springtails practice external fertilization so compatibility of genitalia is not a problem in generating hybrids, but pheromone compatibility could be, having said which, I believe hybrids are known/suspected in other species?
I found a colony of these Tullbergiidae living in amongst the roots of an Orchid that is kept in the utility room. These are very small Collembola and ranged from 0.3mm-0.5mm at a guess. I was messing around with extension tubes etc, some were taken with my MP-E with the 1.4x teleconverter and 108mm of extension tubes and a few with the teleconverter and 168mm of extension tubes.
I have no idea what species these are, I'm not even sure if they are a UK species, as they most probably came in with the Orchid, I suppose it depends whether the Orchid was grown in the UK or was imported.
I'm guessing that this is possibly a Mesaphorura sp.
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.
Last week it finally rained after a very long drought.So now it´s like Sping here and this is the 1st Springtail I´ve seen since February. So cute and small now!
Single shot of a small froup of springtails on a water barrel. The brown object is a slice of apple (going a bit off by now)
These are my favourite Collembola at present. Such wonderful bright yellow and orange colours. I will also add i find them the hardest to photograph as well, their eyes are not as pronounced and contrast strongly against the bright orange.
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.
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.
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.
Springtail of genus Protaphorura (Collembola: Onychiuridae). Details of unknown sensory organ just above the left antenna.