Springtails

When the ground turns out to be alive!

These are Springtails: primitive, wingless, not-insects in the Order Collembola. Springtails are ubiquitous soil dwellers and it's not unusual to find more than 25,000 per square metre (imagine counting them ...). They are soil heroes feeding on, and breaking down, decomposing organic materials and fungi. They also assist with nutrient cycling.

Have you seen a purple scum on puddles? That's a raft of Springtails, flushed out of the soil by rain and floating on the surface of the water. When not floating on puddles, they escape predators by "springing" away. They can reportedly jump up to 10 cm, that's amazing for a 3 mm long critter!

(Murray Sunset National Park)