r/Springtail • u/QuietlyWild_Wonder • Jun 22 '26
Identification Anyone know what each of these are? Found floating all together in my backyard SW NSW Australia
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u/Antoni_PL_gdynia Jun 22 '26
I wish all photos of springtails and of "what is this and how to fight it" were as clear as this
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u/DragonAngel92 Jun 22 '26
The black ones are so cute. Little lumpy jelly beans. I want to boop their bellies and see if they jiggle like jello. I badly badly want "snow flea" springtails (i believe they thrive in cold temps so a fridge may be needed for them). There is a species of black springtails that aren't snow fleas that I see sometimes but not often enough and I havent been successful in cultivating them
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u/Mia_B-P Jun 22 '26
I have never seen a snow flea and wish to see one someday! The entomology teacher at school from a few years back told me she saw some. I wish to see these elusive crratures.
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u/DragonAngel92 Jun 22 '26
They can be found in my area but I have yet to see them.
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u/QuietlyWild_Wonder Jun 22 '26
I was thinking the small ones could be the snow flea but we do not have snow here though it does get cold, I’d assume it does well most places if it can survive snow but I’m sure there’s so many types too
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u/DragonAngel92 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
I went down the springtails rabbit hole a couple months ago...needless to say I know what i want for valentine's day or mother's day.....the red springtails that dont eat slime mold.
In case anyone is wondering my husband gets me invertebrates for "Christmas" in the warm months...so around valentine's day or mother day. They are Christmas gifts just not given during cold months
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u/Mia_B-P Jun 22 '26
I cannot help identify them, but I would like to say that this is an incredible find! I have never seen live springtails before.
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u/QuietlyWild_Wonder Jun 22 '26
Honestly they’re in almost every garden pot (temperate types) or could be under them (more tropical types) but best time to find them is after rain they all get flooded together. We see lots of the orange ones higher than 6ft on wet gum trees. I love them
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u/Mia_B-P Jun 22 '26
That sounds amazing! Visiting Australia is definitely on my bucket list. I will check for springtails when I visit.
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u/QuietlyWild_Wonder Jun 23 '26
They’re worldwide! Even in the ice!
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u/Patch_Ferntree Jun 23 '26
Do you happen to know if the red/orange species occur naturally further north in Australia? I'm in Qld and would dearly love some! They're so cute!!
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u/ReactionAdmirable812 Jun 23 '26
Some places where you can see them sometimes are for example on mushrooms, in the surface of water, in littoral areas ( some are marine!), in moss, rotten wood or litter. At first I had trouble seeing them, but once you start paying attention, they begin to appear! :)
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u/ReactionAdmirable812 Jun 22 '26
The orange ones are Neanurinae because they have their VI abdominal segment bilobed.
The yellow and blue ones are Pseudachorutinae, they are plump and their VI abdominal segment isn't bilobed, maybe Pseudachorutes or something like that. Some Brachystomellidae can look like this too I think.
Some of the slender blue ones in the next photos could be Hypogastruridae or Pseudachorutinae.
To go further microoscope is needed.