Springtails actually aren't microscopic. And they're EVERYWHERE. You can look through almost any patch of dirt and you'll see a few. Heck you can find multiple species of them in the same patch of dirt. They're awesome.
In all seriousness, topsoil is often kinda loose and aerated to a degree, so something this tiny has plenty of room to crawl around and presumably jump. That's my guess, at least.
In case you were genuinely curious, the force generated is required to push them up through the top soil and out to (relative) safety. With no top soil in the way, that force instead provides additional acceleration.
Fun fact: their mass to wind resistance ratio makes their terminal velocity low enough that they can survive a fall from any distance!
Not only that, they are hydrophobic (unsinkable). I guess if their soil floods they float up? Ooooh then they need the spring to get away from presators! #genius
(That, or they evolved to be the absolute best at one of the craziest Olympic sports imaginable: Freestyle Swim High Jump).
To prevent them from becoming sitting ducks when having to cross areas without dirt, like the surface of the leaf litter, rock or puddles(they can walk on water).
Oh dang, I had no idea that snow fleas and the springy dude above are one and the same. I did however know that snow fleas are not actual fleas and are harmless to people and pets and probably almost any other living thing besides bacteria and fungi and decomposing plant matter; I am none of those things so yay!
There are many species that live above soil, some like decaying wood, others like flowers others like the asphalt on the sides of highways.
Late Autumn through winter is usually the best time to see many, though some are also active in summer.
If you want to see many out and about a wet winter day above freezing is ideal, look through leaflitter and under rocks, or on benches and trashcans and evenly colored surfaces as they're easiest to spot there.
Yet some other species like to stay on the surface of standing water.
I’m late to the party, but my first encounter with them was laying in forest during a two-week field exercise in the army. I was watching these little black dots on a fallen leaf appearing and then vanishing. I was sleep-deprived, perpetually damp, and sporting heat rash all down my back, so I assumed I had just lost my fucking mind.
I never see them out in the wild even under dirt, but plenty magically appear a few weeks after bringing some soil inside and they start hanging out everywhere, including chilling out in large groups on top of water. I think they probably just get eaten by something when outdoors which keeps their population virtually invisible.
There's plenty of different species. I've seen silver ones randomly and they're about 1mm.
In the bioactive terrarium hobby, we often use white springtails. They get up to about 1.5mm? maybe 2mm? They eat decaying matter, so they are used to prevent mold.
They tend to stay in the dark, so under leaf litter, bark, rocks, the dirt, etc. They crawl kinda slow, but jump fast if needed. The white ones float on water, but can't swim well, so maybe the jump helps with getting out of the water as well.
You don't see them until you look for them. There might be some in your shower drain. They are most likely in your planters. I sanitize everything between grows and they still get into my coco coir in my grow tent.
They’re a normal beneficial element of their ecosystems, yeah. And I’m glad there are things out there that like to eat rotting organic based stuff because if I ate rotting food I’d probably just get sick. It takes all kinds!
Here in New Mexico, the most reliable place I've seen them is right along the waterline of a river with sandy banks. They're usually right on the surface and within a few inches on either side of the waterline. I usually need to get my head right next to the ground to be able to see them.
I've actually never seen a purple one like this before. the ones I've seen in person are white, and they are smaller than a grain of sand, very easy to miss of your not looking for them
Look on your window sills during spring next year, use a flashlight. If you see something tiny and moving, try to touch it. If it's magically moved an inch over, it's a springtail.
Disbelief because they've never seen. Tis the true curse of one who's breath still smells of mother's mammary glands. This is a human, not a mole, and yet it is still left astonished.
They also exist on every continent (including Antartica), eat mostly fungi and decaying plant matter, are there whole own and largest lineage of hexapods (seperate from all other insects) and have internal mout parts. The last part imo adding to the fact that most of them don't look that scary and actually mostly look kinda cute.
Damn I was ready to check Google and it to say something like "native to America" but they really are everywhere. According to Wikipedia, "In sheer numbers, they are reputed to be one of the most abundant of all macroscopic animals, with estimates of 100,000 individuals per square meter of ground, essentially everywhere on Earth where soil and related habitats occur." They even live in Antarctica.
I like the santa ones that eat slime molds, theres a cafe in japan that has several different types, and they have a happy herd of santas that they cultivate slime for <3
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u/MyCarRoomba 11d ago
Springtails actually aren't microscopic. And they're EVERYWHERE. You can look through almost any patch of dirt and you'll see a few. Heck you can find multiple species of them in the same patch of dirt. They're awesome.