More garden springtails

Globular springtail on a fence rail. Focus stacked using zerene

Globular springtail series. On a greenhouse strut

Springtail collembola

Taken at 5:1 and cropped slightly - springtails about 1mm body length max. Trying to get pics of the hairs on the body for Frans to ID them

Found lots of these today.

Had a look today on the patch of white wild flowers, but could not see any springtails. Finally spotted this really small baby!

Globular springtail series. 3 merged shots of the same springtail

Shot as an exposure test then realised there was a springtail floating there....

Globular springtail X10. Focus stacked using zerene. (using a 10X microscope objective)

These globular springtails reside in the garden patio just outside my back door. They hide behind the ivy and under the boulders used as a retaining wall. It seems that there are several species but this one caught my interest with its white collar. In real life, they look like tiny black pinheads with a single, striking white dot on their back. It's as though they were wearing tuxedos.

I use a Canon G11 to which I've adapted a lens that I ripped out of an old Super 8 video camera. Lighting is supplemented with a single LED bicycle lamp that is on continuously. It is aimed just in front of the lens and helps to find the subject. All of this is held together with duct tape of course. What can I say, it works. I use a mini tripod from a Sony video camera that was rejected by its owner. It’s tough as nails and I totally abuse it leaning on it to get the focus and steady the camera. I usually use focus bracketing in manual focus mode to get three quick shutter releases. It does nothing for the focus. The lens combination (camera set at maximum zoom and focused to infinity) has a fixed focusing point so focus is entirely by moving the camera.

The distance across the crops is 3-3.5 mm. I determined this by taking pictures of an architectural scale.

0.6mm springtail on a blade of grass

thank you ZereneStacker. I love you.

Starting to see Springtails again. Still waiting for Canon to fix my MPE!

Springtail on the edge of a microscope slide

Burnaby BC

1/7/10

Am seeing very small young springtails now.

This was taken at 5x mag with a 2.5 converter clipped on the Mp-e

Springtail on a windowsill. Isotoma viridis ?

Focus stacked using zerene

Damp springtail. Focus stacked using zerene

This was a cool little find the other day. A bright orange springtail amongst a forest of nematodes. At least, I'm guessing they're nematodes. Don't know what else. They were everywhere on this patch of moss but I waited for this springtail to wander across before I took any photos.

Courtesy of Frans- "Nematodes often hitchhike on arthropods. They 'wave' in S-like body shapes on top of moss sticking to whatever they hit. Once stuck to a Collembola specimen, they tend to wind up spirally during the transport. This way of transportation of specimens of a species by specimens of another species is called 'phoresis'."

These springtails like the rim of one of my compost bins so they are normally totally in the dark.

Another new spp for Jersey records :)

In leaf litter on calcareous grassland on west coast of Jersey

About 6mm long

Taken using my DIY dark-field setup so the light shines through the subject but the light below looks dark. Full size crop from a shot taken at about 6.3x (MP-E 65mm + 68mm of tubes).

Found on a puddle between sidewalk and grass/moss.

Taken in Battle Ground, Clark Co., WA, USA

Thanks to Frans Janssens for ID.

These are photos of my untamed yard. This is the newest spot i found. I found Promorulina nuda here.

Taken in Battle Ground, Clark Co., WA, USA

Tiny globular springtail about 0.8mm body length. Actually spotted it on a leaf with a fly- see www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/3871912572/

ID'd as Deuterosminthurus pallipes

Taken in Battle Ground, Clark Co., WA, USA

Thanks to Frans Janssens for ID.

www.nickybay.com

Dicyrtomina ornata (?)

A rather nice white springtail found in my little pitfall trap in oak litter. Trying to pin down the id, but struggling slightly... l.8 mm long.

Thanks to Frans Janssens for the ID.

Found during a night hike in Kerinci Seblat national park, Sumatra, Indonesia.

Bugs on the compost bin #4 Springtails and Mite

Springtail in leaf litter. About 2.3mm body length

Springtails on a dustbin lid

These are photos of my untamed yard. This is my path to the wetlands lol. I need to clear it again if i want to get through there!

Taken in Battle Ground, Clark Co., WA, USA

Dicyrtomina cf. ornata

Yes, I photographed that many distinct individuals in three nights! Three the first time, one the night before last, and the rest last night. It rained yesterday and they were everywhere, once I got to looking. One of those situations where I suddenly become aware that I may be committing mass murder by merely walking. =( Or maybe they're small/fast enough to get out of the way.

Bug Gwen is currently using this photo in her write-up on springtails.

Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt the postings of our usual jumping spiders for this special capture!

My first springtail. I've shot springtail before but only when they came into the frame when i was shooting something else, like when shooting an ant. :D

This one was 2mm long excl the antennae.