Department of Entomology

Collembola (Springtails)

Family Fact Sheet

Back to Order List

Go to Tree of Life

Collembola - Brigham Young/VPI & SU PCD0330001

I. Background information

A. Origin of name

  1. coll, glue; embola, a bolt or wedge
  2. Refers to the collophore
  3. Once believed that the collophore was used to adhere to smooth surfaces but now known that the collophore plays a role in water uptake.

B. Classification

  1. Suborders - Arthropleona (elongate) and Symphypleona (globular)
  2. America north of Mexico - 2 suborders, 7 families, 85 genera, 700 species
  3. World - 4 families, 6,000 species
  4. Estimate of undescribe species - 25 - 30%

C. Common names - Springtails

D. Type of metamorphosis - Simple

E. Phylogenetic relationships

  1. Entognathous hexapods

II. Morphological characteristics

A. Furcula (composed of the manubrium, dens, and mucro) on forth abdominal segment held in place by a retinaculum (also called a tenaculum).

B. Collophore on first abdonmial segment

C. Eyes small with no more than 8 facets (ommatidia) on each side of the head.

D. Antennae present

E. Wingless

III. Biological summary for the order

A. Life history

  1. Eggs - deposited in large batches and the nymphs develop in 2-3 weeks.
  2. Nymphs
  3. Adults
  4. Some known to be parthenogenetic.
  5. Sometimes exhibit ecomorphy (temperature)

B. Habitat

  1. Soil, forest litter, decaying wood, under bark, fungi
  2. Podura aquatica Linneaus occurs on the surface of freshwater ponds.

C. Habits (mode of existence)

  1. Feed on bacteria, fungi, pollen, lichens, decaying vegetation, and carrion.
  2. A few are carnivores

D. Collecting and preserving

  1. Berlese funnel from leaf mold, humus, decaying vegetation, moss, margins of bodies of freshwater ponds, snow.
  2. 80% alcohol
  3. Slide mount

E. Behavior

  1. Mating
    • Males deposit a number of stalked droplets of sperm on the ground
    • Wandering females find and harvest them with their slitlike genital opening.
    • P. aquatica builds a fence of stalked sperm droplets and proceeds to shove the female to the fence to force here to take his sperm.
  2. Acquiring food

F. Significance

  1. Economic - Occasional pests of greenhouses and mushroom cellars
  2. Ecological - Probably play a very significant role in energy flow for many ecosystems.

 

Prepared by: F. W. Ravlin, VPI & SU
Last modified: 9/3/96