 |
|
Springtails of the Soil |
|
|
Click on the image for a larger version
|
|
Springtails of the Soil |
|
Soil springtails, Hypogastrura sp. (family Hypogastruruidae, order Collembola, class Insecta, phylum Arthropoda [Mandibulata]) |
Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot
| Explanation:
No, these are not nanobots.
Go stand in the forest. Beneath your feet dwells an amazing world of
microscopic and barely-visible organisms ... such as these soil springtails.
Springtails are immensely numerous but little-seen by most forest
visitors. But they are also immensely important to maintaining the
health of the forest and soil ecosystem. Springtails
get their name from most species having a forked tail-like appendage
called a furcula by which they can spring amazing distances (for their
size).
This genus of springtail -- Hypogastrura -- dwells in the upper soil and litter layers where they apparently feed on fungi, lichens, bacteria, and decaying plant material. When present, they normally occur in enormous numbers. They can frequently be observed on top of the snow during winter months and on glaciers where they are presumably feeding on algae, thus their common name, "snowfleas". They are very tiny -- the above photo was taken at 200x magnification! Hypogastrura snowfleas are decomposers. They are a significant element of the forest litter biota in temperate and arctic climes, creating topsoil through the digestion of fragments of soil and litter flora and fungi. The presence and abundance of these springtails may be good indicators of healthy and productive soil. |
Next week's picture: Pileated Signs
Member Theme of Taos-Telecommunity