Sminthuridae - Globular springtails

All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.

Springtails & Bristletails

Springtails are a class of Arthropods. Previously thought to be insects, they are now classified in the arthropod sub-phylum Hexapoda. They are characterised by having a jumping organ, or furca, underneath their body that can fling them to safety if attacked. There are around 250 UK species in the UK. They are one of the most abundant animal groups and can be found in most moist habitats. Being small and soft-bodied, Springtails can be hard to identify, though a few are recognisable from decent macro photos. The gallery on NatureSpot offers a guide to some of the most common species and the photo ID ratings indicate which can be reasonably identified without keying out a specimen. 

For help photographing springtails, see our article on Ultra-Macro Photography. 

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Springtails

Springtails (Collembola) are the largest group of hexapods. They are small (up to 6 mm) but very abundant, with up to 100,000 reputed to live in each cubic metre of top soil. Most have a tail-like appendage held under their abdomen called a furcula which is held under tension. If they feel threatened it can be released to catapult them into the air to escape. They live in soil and in leaf litter where they eat mainly dead vegetation and microbes, though some eat living plants and can be pests.

Sminthuridae - Globular springtails