Most abundant insects in the world!
Amanda Gladys
Springtail #101
Order Collembola (Coal-m-bowl-uh)
Classification
•
•
•
•
•
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthrodopa
Subphylum Hexapoda
Class Entognatha
Order Collembola
Suborder Arthropleona
Suborder Symphypleona
Collembola have been around at least 400
million years,
Collembola Characteristics
•Wingless
•Ametabolous Metamorphosis
•Endogathic chewing
mouthparts (located inside the
head cavity)
•0.25mm-10mm in size
More than 6,000 known species in the world!
Unidentified species estimates as many as 50,000.
Distinctive Characteristics
• Collophore “glue-piston”
A tube like structure located on ventral side of first
abdominal segment. Secretions help some stick
to smooth surfaces, others have been observed
grooming with secretions. Function is unknown
but thought to help springtail maintain water
balance.
• Furcula
Is a retractable organ that stays cocked, when
tenaculum releases Springtails FLY!
Habitat
Soil, leaf litter,
Decaying wood, fungi, mosses, caves,
shorelines (freshwater & marine), the
surface of water, deserts in Australia,
rainforest canopy, Antarctica glaciers and
the nest of social insects.
Mating Behavior
Indirect or External reproduction.
Males leave spermatophore for
females to find.
Female collect the spermatophore
and inseminate themselves.
In some species males will eat
spermatophore to eliminate
competition.
Some species have elaborate
courtship rituals.
Life Cycle
• Ametablous (egg-larvae-adult)
• 3-40 instars before they reach sexual
maturity.
• Several generations per year.
• Lifespan month to a year and a half.
• Females lay ~ 150 eggs in their lifetime.
• Quickest hatch time ~4 days
• Longest hatch time 110 days.
Life cycle
• Collembola continue to molt after they
reach sexual maturity.
Reproductive activity occurs only during
alternate instars: each reproductive stage
is followed by a molt, a short period of
feeding, and another molt.
Economic Importance
• Lucerne Flea in New Zealand and
Australia is a serious pest of alfalfa.
• Hypogastrura armata is a frequent
pest of commercial mushrooms.
Classroom Activities
• http://hyper.vcsun.org/HyperNews/nherr/g
et/nherr/NSF2/46.html Proposal
• http://www.earthlife.net/insects/collcare.ht
ml How to keep and care for springtails in
the classroom
• Habitat Diversity, traits, evolution.
Interesting Facts
• Population densities can reach 750 million
individuals per hectare (10000 m2) (300
million per acre) have been found in some
grassland communities. (Up to 30 different
species in one area).
• In Austria, firemen called to the scene of a
chemical spill only to find a very large
patch of springtails.
Web Resources
• http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/clinic/Bugofw
k/970003/springta.htm
• http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/aimg1.html
• http://www.collembola.org/ ***
• http://www.missouri.edu/~bioscish/coll.html
• http://www.ento.csiro.au/Ecowatch/Hexapods/col
lembola.htm
• http://www.earthlife.net/insects/collcare.html*
• http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/compen
dium/collem.html#facts
Book Resources
• Cranshaw, Whitney. Garden Insects of
North America: The Ultimate Guide to
Backyard Bugs. Princeton University
Press: Princeton, NJ. 2004..
• Castner, James L. Photographic Atlas of
Entomology and Guide to Insect
Identification. Feline Press: Gainesville,
FL. 2000.