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First Dicyrtomina sp. springtail of the season on the underside of a fallen leaf. Focus stacked using zerene
Globular springtail on damp wheelie bin lid. Focus stacked using zerene.
See www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/15751892450/ for a 3-D version
Springtail (Entomobrya sp) with a size of around 2 mm, made with magnification factor 14 and f/5.
It is a single picture which has been made in our garden without using a tripod, while the springtail was busy doing his thing. The large version can be seen at
Members of Collembola are normally less than 6 mm long. Most species have an abdominal, tail-like appendage, the furcula, that is folded beneath the body to be used for jumping when the animal is threatened. It is held under tension by a small structure called the retinaculum and when released, snaps against the substrate, flinging the springtail into the air. All of this takes place in as little as 18 milliseconds (ref. Wikipedia).
Firstly, apologies for uploading the twenty or so springtail photos earlier- edit... 35! just had to get over a backlog of less than great photos, so anyone who reads this- don't feel you have to comment on them. Most of them aren't particularly good, just wanted them up for interest really...
This was taken on the first day I got back to Tairua in New Zealand- I do love these Dicyrtomina springies. They just look joyously funny. If you look closely, you can make out the stitch marks joining the front and back halves together.
This was a tragedy. I was following her around as normal, on a leaf, and she got tangled in some spider web. Unfortunately, things deteriated until this. I realised then how much I've grown to love these great little springtails. I couldn't remove the web, so sadly, that would have been that, I think. However, you can see some of the cool springtail mechanics so as sad as it was to watch her struggle, I was still looking, going, Wow! Difficult.
Another from a series of shots I'm doing for FransJanssens@www.collembola.org to establish the size and differences between the various instars of this Katiannid springtail. Here's a juvenile instar from our Staffordshire garden this morning.
The same Dicyrtoma fusca individual as in the previous image; this time adopting a rather unusual stance. Reminds me of a dog playing. You can almost imagine it growling!
Dachshund
Date: Circa 1912
Source Type: Postcard
Printer, Publisher, Photographer: Hugo Wessler
Postmark: None
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: Springtail postcards were typically mailed with a cellophane sleeve to protect the mechanical spring. Therefore, while the postcard may contain a message and address, it is rare to find a springtail postcard with an affixed stamp and postmark.
Copyright 2010. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.
Too many subsegments on the antennae for Bourletiella hortensis? Or just a brightly coloured one? Will check the book again....
I'd virtually given up on my morning springtail hunt at the local churchyard today. Even though there was a bit of fine drizzle, the grass and leaf-litter was rather dry after a rain-free and rather breezy 24 hours. Not good springtail weather.
It's basically the globular springtail species that I'm interested in. A week or so back, I was finding several on each fallen laurel leaf that I examined. They like to congregate on the undersides. Well, after a fruitless 30 minutes or so, turning over dozens of leaves and seeing virtually nothing, I found this one. I even managed to get it to the camera before it jumped (or blew!) away.
This looks to me like Deuterosminthurus pallipes. This is a species that I very rarely see at this location. In fact, looking back at my Photostream, this is only the second time that I've ever encountered it. The first was in September last year when interestingly, it had been the only thing I'd found in a 30 minute search. Determination pays off!
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm macro lens (at x5) + 1.4x Extender + 68mm of extension tubes + MT-24EX flash. Cropped a bit. This individual about 0.6mm.
Onychiurus oregonensis is a species of springtail which is unique to the Oregon Caves. Springtails are considered hexapods, but not insects, due to an internal mouth. Their name is derived from a small tail piece, called a furcula, which it can use to "spring" from pool to pool. Though this picture offers great detail, the creature is no larger than the head of a pin.
Globular springtail - still playing with background colour/reflections with these using a flower behind the subject
I had my macro setup at 8x magnification, as I was looking for Sminthurinus globular springtails. These are often just 0.6mm long or less. This 2mm Dicyrtomina springtail came into view and paused sufficiently for me to get four shots at F6.3. These have been combined using Zerene Stacker.
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm (at 5x) + 1.4x Extender + 36mm extension tube + MT24-EX Flash. Magnification 8x. Springtail 2.0mm. Cropped a little.
Springtail, probably Allacma sp. (Allacma fusca?), preparing to moult. Brampton Wood Nature Reserve, Brampton, Cambridgeshire. July 29, 2020.
The reticulate pattern on the abdomen apparently develops when the springtail is preparing to moult (slightly more detailed view in comments). White feet are another clue, which this one also had.
We moved house recently and opportunities for photography have been limited. We're in a semi-rural part of Staffordshire now, and hearing that Ivy Bees (Colletes hederae) had been seen recently not far away, I decided to go searching this afternoon.
I had no luck with the bees, so headed for the local village churchyard to look for springtails. I spent about 30 minutes there and was pleased to see a good number present in leaf-litter. Here's a selection of the shots that i took. I just had the Canon MP-E with me (no Extenders of extension tubes). I'll need to go back with my "ultra-macro" set-up.
I was pleased to see some of the dark Sminthurinus species that frequented the Warwickshire churchyard that I used to visit regularly. I can see that I'll be spending plenty of time there!
Ceratophysella springtails sailing around in a puddle.
Taken with a little sportscam with a cctv lens with no IR cut filter.
To every action there is a reaction
I found this springtail under a rotting branch today. It's infected with a fungus. I've seen this once before on a globular springtail and have seen other photographs too. Typically, the head does not seem to get affected in these circumstances.
I assumed this was a Dicyrtomina species, but could be a pale form of Dicyrtoma fusca. Not really sure. Perhaps Frans will comment.
these small insects are so easy to find yet so difficult to photograph, still working on getting better images, when i achieve it, i'll replace them
Thought I'd take a trip to the local woodlands today and see what's lurking in the leaf-litter. There were lots of springtails (as you'd expect) on fallen twigs and branches, but only one apparent species of globular springtail, Allacma fusca. I photographed several.
Allacma fusca can be large in globular springtail terms; up to 3.5mm. This individual was smaller, about 2.5mm. This image is a focus-stack of ten shots at F7.1 combined using Zerene Stacker.
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm Macro (at x5) + MT24-EX Flash.
This globular springtail - Sminthurinus aureus landed on its back in a film of moisture, after "springing". It did eventually right itself, but gave an opportunity for a photograph of the underside.
The two-pronged furca is visible, as are the eversible vesicles that has been extruded from the ventral tube (collophore). Edward Nurcombe ([http://www.flickr.com/photos/odonataman]) has reminded me that the vesicles can be used as a self-righting mechanism.
Canon 5D3 + MP-E 65mm + 1.4x Extender + 36mm extension tube. TwinLite flash. Heavily cropped.