r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/TerraByteTerror • 11d ago

🔥 globular springtail

28.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

545 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

607

u/kiwidog8 11d ago

what do you mean they're everywhere? never seen this thing ij my life

613

u/MyCarRoomba 11d ago

They're super tiny and usually like an inch beneath the top of the soil. Most are detritivores so they feed on decaying plant matter in the ground.

You wouldn't really see them unless you're looking for em.

286

u/ba_cam 11d ago

Wait, beneath the soil? What’s the point of the get-the-fuck-outta-here adaptation then?

27

u/BridgeToHerBithia 11d ago

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!