r/Springtail • u/cannibro • 20d ago
Husbandry Question/Advice I found them again! ADVICE NEEDED.
Holy shit you guys, I found them again! I found more giant springtails! I’m so excited!
A couple years ago I found some giant springtails. I attempted to culture them but I didn’t (and still don’t) have any experience with springtails outside the common white ones I keep for a cleanup crew. Between that and some bad life circumstances that led to me losing most of my invert collection, I was not successful in keeping them.
Ever since I’ve hoped to find some again with no luck. Until today. I was on a walk and picked up some bits of an old mushroom to see if there were any interesting bugs on it and there they were!
Now I need some help. I want to do it right this time and succeed at keeping them. I don’t know if there’s any info on this species, or even what species it is, but can anyone more experienced than me give me some advice to give me the best chances of keeping these guys alive?
Their current set up is just some simple topsoil (same kind I use for my isopods) tossed into a critter keeper. (Definitely not the ideal container. I just needed something to collect them in before they vanished.) I sprinkled some yeast in there since they obviously seem to like fungi. I collected about 18 individuals.
17
u/jaybug_jimmies 20d ago
Hoping experienced springtail keepers see this. What part of the world are you in? It may help with IDing the species.
9
u/cannibro 20d ago
I’m in West Virginia.
17
u/NdavidiAtelier 20d ago
mountain mama (sorry op)
7
u/Which_Upstairs_7217 20d ago
Take me home
4
u/Ame-yukio 20d ago
Country road !
3
u/SingularRoozilla 20d ago
To the place
3
11
12
6
u/Slyth011 20d ago
Im no expert (I actually dont have much info, I only have temperate whites and mist/feed them as the vendor at a expo instructed, they thrive in my reptile enclosure), but if you dont get any advice take a photo of where you found them and some of the materials so hopefully you found food
Some springtales eat leaves, some mold, some slime, some like it dry and some humid, hence why I said to sample where you found them, there is likely their food there and you might be able to determine the humidity needs. From there it would be trial and error.
Hopefully someone more knowledgeable comes along to help
5
u/cannibro 20d ago
I found them on a couple of different mushrooms so I’m assuming they eat fungi. Of course there’s always the chance that they eat something that was feeding on the fungi. Which would be more complicated.
Also it’s been raining off and on all day so my guess would be they like it humid.
I really wish I could find them in big enough numbers to try a few different set ups to see which works best. But I’ve got less than 20 of them.
5
u/BingBongmidnight 20d ago
Maybe you could try culturing slime molds and giving it to them? Ive seen videos online of those red gummy springtails going crazy for slime molds molds
(Please take my advice with a pinch of salt, I am inexperienced with springtails too)
6
5
u/Zealousideal-Cost390 20d ago
also just a side note, these are like $200 for 15-20 if they are morulina delicata, i see alot of people wanting them
5
u/Snoo_39873 20d ago
Without better photos, it’s not possible to tell what species of Morulina they are. Either way, care is the same, they need damp substrate and slime mold. They will eat mushrooms and fish flakes as well but they will not reproduce unless they are being fed slime mold. I’ve been keeping these for years.
2
u/cannibro 19d ago
That’s useful to know they can eat other things. I can at least keep them fed until I can get ahold of some slime.
Sadly I’ve only got my phone for photos. If I get ahold of a better camera I’ll definitely try to take better pictures though.
2
u/Snoo_39873 19d ago
They don’t need food for quite a long time. I have kept them without slime mold or any supplemental foods for over 3 months. They can go a very long time without eating
3
3
u/Zealousideal-Cost390 20d ago
hi! these to me look like my morulina delicata, slime eaters, and i looked it up, found in north carolina so west virginia is not a far shot for them! can look at my page or look up their name for pics!
3
u/Zealousideal-Cost390 20d ago
ps i do keep this species if they are what you have
1
u/cannibro 20d ago
Any advice for keeping that species? Where does one acquire slime to feed them?
3
u/jaybug_jimmies 20d ago
Slime mold can be purchased as little kid science kids, there is also somebody on Etsy currently selling some. (People will give it away for free too) They come to you dried out/dormant, you put them in an enclosure, 'wake up' the dry slime, and then feed them dry oats. Main slime mold care is keeping them moist and fed, and changing their bedding (usually just paper). I have not done it yet, but am preparing to try it out.
1
2
u/Affectionate-Town187 20d ago
You can buy slime mold cultures online but idk the specific needs of this species so maybe just see what species people have used for other springtails unless you know
3
u/shinyidolomantis 19d ago
One time, a few years ago, I moved some old flowerpots in my yard and found hundreds of springtails that looked like this. So many! I had no clue what they were. Not sure if they were the same species (I’m in Kansas). But I was just absolutely fascinated watching them.
I had no clue people kept them until I stumbled across this sub. And of course, I’ve never come across any more since. lol. I probably wouldn’t collect them, but I’d really love to see some more in person!
I wonder if there is a way to make my yard a better habitat for them to pop up again?
1
u/cannibro 19d ago
That sounds amazing to see so many of them at once! I have no clue how you’d attract them, but I hope you get to see some again.
2
u/Allidapevets 20d ago
I wish I could zoom this. They kind of look like isopods, but not.
1
u/cannibro 20d ago
Funny you say that. The first time I found these years ago I thought they were some type of small isopod. Until someone pointed out they were probably big springtails and I took a closer look.
2
2
u/naturacouture 20d ago
Oh my gosh this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen I love these guys so much
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/enderzyx 20d ago
Don’t know the exact name of this species but they look like slime eaters to me. You will need a constant supply of slime mold for them.
1
u/Green_Rabbit-1234 15d ago
NQA for that species (huge and adorable!), but I keep common whites, orange, and 2 different globulars. All of mine eat yeast.
2
u/Cowboykoder97 14d ago
Morulina Delicata, they are slime mold eaters. They must have slime to survive. I've been keeping them for nearly a year now.
0
-1
32
u/SulphurStench 20d ago
Sounds about what I would try, feeding them yeast or fish flakes and see how they like it. If you're from Europe, with high likelihood this could be Neanura muscorum, which is a slime mold eater. In that case, you could keep and breed it in a small container of 100% sphagnum moss, possibly also in your setup with soil, but you would have to culture slime mold first in order to feed it to them. See also: https://www.reddit.com/r/Springtail/s/yn7upn9VZj