Plump Springtail
SQ2: Part of the "sproing"
Plump Springtail
SQ2: Macro of individuals
Animals
Plants
Info
| Plump Springtail SQ2: Part of the "sproing" | | Plump Springtail SQ2: Macro of individuals | | ||
Animals Plants Info |
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Springtails (Collembola) | ||||||||||||
| Order: | Plump Springtails (Poduromorpha) | |||||||||||||
| Family: | Plump Springtail (Poduromorpha) iNaturalist Observation | |||||||||||||
| Species: | Plump Springtail (Hypogastrura sp)| This Photo: | 🔍SQ2: Closer🔎 | Thank you Thomas Mesaglio (TheBeachConber) for confirming the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere They are small (~2 to 3mm long) and have 6 legs, 2 stumpy feelers & 2 eyes (made up of 8 ocelli). Not true insects as they lack wings and have soft bodies. Dark pink underneath with dark purple backs. Collectively referred to as a "sproing", a mass aggregation. When walking around they look like ash from a campfire on the ground. Then you notice the ash moving! There are millions on the ground around Ellura at the moment. Unfortunately you can't walk outside without stepping on them. They eat fungi & rotting matter. They are part of the clean up crew, gobbling up the tiniest scraps turning it into chemicals that the plants need We don't see them often. We've found them living underground, feeding on the roots of daisies. After heavy rains they are found in "sproings" everywhere above ground as they'd drown if they stayed underground. Prof' Ian Gibbins said, in relation to how springtails have such hydrophobic (water-repelling) cuticle ("skin"). " It's super complicated and involves fluctuations in the orientation of cholesterol molecules that effectively prevent other molecules sticking to them. The main ecological consequence of this is that the cuticle of the springtails stays clean in their damp habitat, which is full of small particles and micro-organisms. This is critical to their survival, since they respire ("breathe") through their cuticle so they need to keep it free from contamination. But it also lets them float on water should they end up in such a situation." We have a couple of sequences here (marked SQ1 & SQ2) which are photo's of 2 separate sproings, at different times, but each sequence getting closer in; showing the "natural" view, then gettting down to the macro view.
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