Did you know that springtails come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes? Here are some lovely representatives of the four springtail Orders (clockwise from top left): Symphypleona, Entomobryomorpha, Poduromorpha and Neelipleona!

#SoilBiodiversity #SoilFauna #SoilEcology #SoilMesofauna #Springtail #Collembola #MacroPhotography

@frankashwood
WOW! Knowing that closed terrarium afficionados recommend springtails to control fungus problems and for general terrarium health, I went and read the Wikipedia article on them. Had no idea how widespread and important these little guys are! Important in the soil microbe cycle; maintain mycorrhizal fungi and helper bacteria... Yet another reason to leave the leaves.