April 3rd, 2006
a gathering of springtails
On Saturday, while hiking on the Point Trail at Murphy’s Point Provincial Park, we stopped to examine a floating mass of Springtails (Collembola) that had collected against a V-shaped stick that was partially restricting the flow of a seasonal stream (click on image for larger view). Most of the Springtails were floating on the surface of the water, but a few were climbing around atop the stick.
I dipped a leaf into the mass to see if a few of the Springtails would adhere, which they did. The leaf actually seemed to attract and hold the Springtails so that I was able to examine and photograph them. Based on a rough count, I’d say the concentration on the leaf was at least 100 per square inch, which probably didn’t differ greatly from the concentration on the water (click on image for larger view). After shooting a few photos, I placed the leaf in the water and the Springtails quickly abandoned it to float upon the water’s surface once more.
I believe that these Springtails belong to the Poduridae Family of Collembola. Poduridae are sometimes referred to as Water Springtails. I don’t know enough about Springtails to know their species, but they might be Podura aquatica, a species that is known for aggregating in large numbers on the surface of small ponds. I found a couple of references to Podura aquatica online here and also on an excellent page on Collembola from the Fathom Knowledge Network (see about half way down the page under the heading “Arthropleona”).
Edit: Frans Janssens of the Collembola.org website contacted me to obtain permission to use one of the above photos on the site. He informed me that the ID of this species is probably Hypogastrura nivicola and not Podura aquatica as I had guessed.
Tags: Springtails, Collembola, Poduridae, Podura aquatica, Hypogastrura nivicola
December 8th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
[...] If you live in a place where snow falls in winter, be sure to watch for Springtails on the snow surface on mild days. If you’re in a snowless area, Springtails can be found in leaf mulch, bark or soil. They are also often found in huge aggregations on the water’s surface in streams, puddles and ponds. I reported an excellent aggregation in one of my earlier posts back in April. By the way, Frans Janssens of the Collembola.org website identified the earlier Springtails as Hypogastrura nivicola. If you’re curious about Springtails and want to know more, you’ll find plenty of information and photos on that site. [...]
April 9th, 2007 at 9:56 am
[...] Now, about today’s photos. The top image is of a type of fungi that I frequently find growing on dead poplar branches here at the farm. Based on George Barron’s guide, I’ve ID’d it as Peniophora rufa. What’s interesting, if you wish to take a closer look, is that the little discs of bright orange fungi are covered with tiny springtails (collembola)! If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you’ll have seen these little characters before on a couple of occasions — once gathered on the surface of a stream, and then on top of the snow. Well, here’s another place where I frequently find them — wandering around eating fungi (you can see more examples of that on the page about the springtails on snow). [...]