Biology Asked by Ben B on January 2, 2021
G’day!
I’m based in Victoria, Australia.
I’m hoping to culture springtails for my terrariums, so I went out and tried to collect some. I found them underneath a rock, which was sitting on damp ground. They certainly look like springtails, and gee they’re tiny! 1-2mm. But they don’t jump at all.
My first question is — is this little fella a springtail?
Fast forward a few weeks, and these little critters still seem to be alive in a jar. However, what I believe are isopods appear to have joined them. They’re super tiny though, < 2mm. And they’re always hovering around what appears to be eggs.
Here’s two pictures:
I read online about the lifecycle of isopods. They don’t lay eggs; rather, the mother keeps them in a pouch on her underside. I also read that, absent better food sources, they can feed on the eggs of other insects.
So what I suspect is, that these are springtail eggs, and the isopods are eating them. Is that a correct assessment? And are these indeed isopods?
Thank you in advance for your help!
It seems like they're both springtail species, as suggested by Arthur's comment.
The white one appears to be a type of folsomia, which is easy enough to guess from the appearance (mine don't jump though, I guess ruling out folsomia candida?).
You can compare it to this image of one, from Wikipedia:
I purchased a cheap USB microscope to inspect the second one further. Indeed, as Arthur suggested, it only has three sets of legs:
Additionally, I turned it around and got a look at the underside. I can only guess this is the furcula (though, interestingly, this one doesn't jump either!)?
I'm not sure what the genus is. Could be folsomia, or perhaps hypogastruridae? Either way, they're both springtails! Great news!
Answered by Ben B on January 2, 2021
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