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Sminthurides aquaticus forma levanderi - The male springtail, the smaller of the pair, grasps the female with specialized antennae. They may stay connected like this for hours while the female periodically lifts the male into the air.
I think these are Dicyrtomina saundersi but not 100%, they are about 1mm in length, this i think is a female or juvenile
Lifted up a rotten piece of wood and found at least 4 species under there! The globular ones (top left) mostly pinged off but the others barely moved! Not good shots as they're beyond my camera's abilities really, but thought I'd upload a montage anyway!
Upton Magna - Shropshire
Thanks to Frans for naming them! There's actually 5 species!
Top left = Dicyrtomina ornata + Dicyrtomina saundersi
Top right = Neanura muscorum, a springless springtail
Bottom left = Isotoma viridis
Bottom right = Pogonognathellus flavescens
I had time for a quick springtail hunt this morning, and found this tiny (less than 1mm) and cute Katiannidae (more specifically, a male Katiannidae Gen1 nov sp nov; many thanks to Frans Janssens for the information) on my compost bin. I took this single image at about 3x magnification using my MP-E 65mm lens, with some `redirected' on-camera flash (I still need to work on that!). The image was still quite underexposed (so needed some twiddling), was taken at high ISO, and is a large crop, so it's a bit noisy. Ideally, I need to sort my flash set-up out, and it'd be great to stack these, but they always seem to be constantly on the move.
Springtails floating on a shallow puddle (the group is only about 3/$ - 1 inch across. Carson City, Nevada
I loved the form and color - and the fact that they are so common, but rarely noticed...
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 ?
Around 0.8mm - 0.9mm long, these springtails have appeared from nowhere on the lumps of suet that I feed to the the rest of my menagerie. I assume that they are Sminthurinus domesticus, a species which survives only in indoor locations in this part of the world.
This was back in the summer. Whilst pursuing an uncooperative fly, only because I was looking through the macro lens, I realised I was being watched. This tiny Springtail was peeping out from the caterpillar silk on the leaf.
I'm attempting to get as many photographs of the male and female instars of the Katiannid springtail (Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov.) that we have in our Staffordshire garden. This is a "novel" species that has only been reported during the past 10 years (I think). I'm preparing a large matrix of images (6 images x 4 images) to post on Flickr and have been particularly looking for less mature instars.
This individual was crawling up the side of a black plastic garden storage bin. I rather liked the angle and composition, so thought I'd post it as a single image!
Canon MP-E65mm Macro (at 5x) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + diffused MT24-EX Twinlite flash. Cropped. This individual ~0.6 mm.
At first glance this image isn't overly appealing. When you realize this is a macro image of a springtail hexapod, commonly but incorrectly known as a "snow flea" it becomes unique. These tiny creatures resemble spilled pepper on the surface of the snow and are are virtually inconspicuous. Three extension tubes were used in conjunction with a macro lens plus a large crop to reveal the true appearance of this tiny creature. They are harmless and feed on decaying matter or algae on the snow. They have an "anti freeze" that keeps them from freezing in frigid weather.
My little strawberry plants, I have moved them from the cold to the inside of the house. What's on it? Isotoma anglicana this time ? NO Isotoma viridis !!! (thanks Frans Janssens)
Stack 10 images in zerene Pmax
f/5.6, iso 100, 1/60sec
canon eos 60D, MP-E65mm at 4-5x, macro ringlite MR 14EX,
A selection of globular springtails from our Staffordshire garden today. All found under fallen beech leaves on the lawn.
Top row; Sminthurinus aureus, both typical and dark forms. Bottom left Sphaeridia pumilis, bottom right Sminthurinus elegans.
The dark forms of Sminthurinus aureus are particularly numerous at the moment. One leaf that I looked under must have had several dozen on it!
Canon 5D Mk III + MP-E lens (at 5x magnification) + 1.4x tele-extender + 25mm extension tube + YN24EX flash. Heavily cropped.
The garden was nice and wet this morning with dew and fallen leaves on the lawn; perfect for springtail hunting. What I usually do is set up my camera on a solid surface with a little elevated platform in front of it. Just a block of wood or something. Sometimes I clip a small LED light above it (things can look pretty dim through the viewfinder). I then carefully pick up leaves from the lawn and scan the underside with a x5 hand-lens. When I find a leaf with springtails, I carefully walk them over to the camera and place them on the platform. If I'm lucky, the springtail is still there when I arrive (they are very prone to "springing" if disturbed).
This dark form of Sminthurinus aureus survived the journey and I managed some shots as it tiptoed across the leaf. I haven't got my current set-up calibrated for measurement, but typically these are a little over 0.5mm long.
Canon 1D IV + MP-E Macro (at x5) + full set on Kenko extension tubes + YN24EX twinlite flash. Cropped.
One of the few adult instars of this springtail (Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov.) that I saw in the garden today. Lots of early instars around though. This individual (~1.15 mm) is a female of the Group 1 type. They have a non-pigmented 6th abdominal segment (not really visible in this shot). She's scuttling across a piece of broken terracotta pot.
I've been seeing a few of these orange globular springtails in our Staffordshire garden. This is the first time I've managed to get a shot of one though.
I'm assuming that it's a colour form of Sminthurinus aureus. No idea really though!
Not sure on ID
Found under one of our Orchids, when watering i noticed the movement so poured the water back into the jug, they happily were jumping around on the surface of the water so i had plenty of time to set a camera up,
can you count them?
the largest ones could be 1 millimetre in length
springtail animation X4. Sminthurides aquaticus
See www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/51851373331/sizes/o/ for animation