A giant springtail (Holacanthella sp.) in Aotearoa

Photos 1-2 - Entomobryomorpha sp.

Photos 3-4 - Brachypylina sp.

Bizarre happenings on the base of a mushroom.

18/12/23 - Arthropoda spp.

Thank you for writing in! Springtails are delightful creatures that I hope to photograph more, but they like to spring out of frame! It always seems I have more luck photographing them unintentionally than I do intentionally. Maybe they want to surprise you post-upload when you find them scattered in the dirt behind a bug so many times their size!

Dragon Springtails (Genus Acanthanura) © Nick Porch [ID: A dark-bodied arthropod with six orange legs and orange bumps and horn-like structures on its head and back. The protrusions are longest on top of it's head, along it's sides, and at it's rear. /End ID] Truly stunning! This individual was observed in Southeast Australia. The name Dragon suits the horns on it's head well.

Seashore Springtail (Anurida maritima) © Evan C [ID: Several dozen bluish grey springtails cluster together as they float on the surface tension of the water.]

This raft of springtails was observed in Coastal Maine, US. This species is considered cosmopolitan but is apparently not found in parts of the British Isles and the Baltic Sea. If anyone seeing this has access to a rocky coast or intertidal zone, see if you can find an aggregation of these guys! They use pheromones to group together and float easily due to their small size and hydrophobic bristles on their body.

Giant springtail (Holacanthella paucispinosa)

Springtails feasting on a fungus.

Tiny but Plump

Unidentified, order Poduromorpha