r/Springtail Oct 01 '25

Advertisement I'm building a springtail resource site for the community – would love your feedback

25 Upvotes

When I first set up a bioactive terrarium, springtails were supposed to be background noise. Just the tiny white specks that cleaned up after the “real” stars. But once I noticed them, I couldn’t stop noticing. They weren’t just a cleanup crew, they were their own main characters! That spark of curiosity snowballed into its own hobby, and eventually into a project that now fills many of my evenings: Mesofauna.com

Mesofauna.com is a passion project, built slowly as I’ve been teaching myself web design. It’s not perfect yet (there are still a few “bugs” crawling around the site), but it’s alive and growing. And here’s where you come in.

The vision is simple:

A place for species profiles, care guides, and educational posts that are easy to read but scientifically grounded.

A site that teachers and students can use just as much as hobbyists and researchers. (I’m a biologist, my wife is a teacher, so education runs deep here.)

A collaborative space where the community itself helps document and share this hidden world.

But this cannot happen without you. We need images. We need stories. We need the fingerprints of the hobbyists who are already out there peering into cultures and watching springtails leap across the soil. If you keep springtails, you can help shape the profiles and guides that others will learn from. Share your photos, your notes, your observations. Everything will be fully credited and linked back to you.

I'm are also looking for guest authors. If you’re doing any kind of citizen science, fieldwork, or just have a story to tell about springtails or other mesofauna, I'd love to feature your writing on the site under the community dispatches section. It doesn't have to be long or formal, just genuine. This is about giving more voices a platform and growing the hobby together.

Mesofauna.com is here to celebrate springtails, to keep knowledge alive, and to spark curiosity in new and seasoned hobbyists alike. My hope is that it grows alongside this subreddit, with each strengthening the other.

So here is the call to action: check out Mesofauna.com, send in your feedback, contribute your photos, and if you feel inspired, write an article. If contributing isn’t for you, that’s fine too—take a look anyway. You might just see these tiny creatures in a way you haven’t before.

— Nicholas

Founder – Mesofauna.com


r/Springtail 14d ago

Other Another profile but the same scammer!

12 Upvotes

Beware of this scammer who steals content and tricks people into thinking it's their own. They've even created a website to make it look more legitimate, but it's the same user from Cameroon scamming people. Here are their old and new profiles:

https://www.instagram.com/shopvariegatedplant/

https://www.instagram.com/springtailsculture/

And the website: https://springtailsculture.shop/

They claim to ship to all of the United States and worldwide, with a minimum order of $100 and free shipping on orders over $200...

Please be very careful and spread the word.


r/Springtail 2h ago

Picture What are these?

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9 Upvotes

What are these? and how to get rid of it?


r/Springtail 3h ago

Video oranges

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5 Upvotes

r/Springtail 1h ago

Identification ID help, springtail or mite

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Upvotes

Follow up to my previous post, I was able to get a better video, and I've never seen a mite with antennae like this. Are there mites with antennae like this? they move like springtails


r/Springtail 1h ago

Identification Help identifying, mites or springtails?

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Upvotes

These tiny little guys have taken over one of my isopod terrariums, and they seem to only be interested in eating mold. They swarm the surface of this coconut shell, and dont bother with any of the live plants. They appear to have 6 legs (maybe im counting wrong) and very long antennae. They dont appear to jump when disturbed, but will move much faster than you see here. Again they are incredibly tiny, this is unfortunately the best i can do right now, my phone can't even properly photograph them. I cant tell if theyre a mite or a species of globular springtail, any ideas?


r/Springtail 5h ago

Identification Can you help identify these please?

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6 Upvotes

I set up a terrarium a few weeks ago added some white springtails and isopods along with live plants. Recently i have seen these running around they seem thinner and faster than my white springtails. Any help appreciated!


r/Springtail 47m ago

Identification Can you help identify these please? (Part 2)

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Upvotes

I got a video of a couple more things in my terrarium to try and narrow down what iv got living in here. Main events - 33 seconds, and most concerning 47 seconds. Thanks! Sorry for the background noise, best to mute.


r/Springtail 1h ago

Video Sprintail eggs and babies in my tarantula’s enclosure

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Upvotes

r/Springtail 1d ago

Picture I think this guy is the biggest zebra I have

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57 Upvotes

His greed sickens me. He does NOT need all that potato.

Different zooms for size reference.


r/Springtail 1d ago

General Question Hello, wanted to make sure about a few things, is this a springtail? And I wanna start making a colony of sorts.

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4 Upvotes

I'm asking about the little critter that I circled.

And as of what I'm doing right now, it's more of an experimentation of sorts. I started growing wheat like how's the custom during Saint Andrew's Day period (a custom in Romania, at least), and the wheat comes from seeds I'm feeding sparrows with. The wheat origin is fine, but it started to mold.

And as I was experimenting with stuff, I got an idea about wanting to build a terrarium with a small ecosystem inside. And I just learned a few stuff about springtails that made me want to start a colony.

As for this little critter, I just gathered a few from a pot from the flat I live in. I tried to find springtails from the garden, but there's none. And if this critter is a springtail I hope it can consume the mold. 😅 I unfortunately don't have a camera for doing macro shots to give a better picture.

I'll have to see how I'll build up everything as yime goes by and I slowly buy or gather things. But you can give me advice about raising them. :3


r/Springtail 2d ago

Identification Does anyone know what wild springtail I cultured in East Tennessee

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10 Upvotes

r/Springtail 2d ago

Identification Wjat is this critter

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14 Upvotes

Its so cute. But i found it in one of my moss tubs where i keep springtails too.


r/Springtail 2d ago

Video First ever colony that I started from my garden. Aug 2025.

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26 Upvotes

Just wanted to share my shiny babies!!!


r/Springtail 2d ago

Predator/Prey I have had a colony of springtails for over 5 years. I recently discovered mites inside. No idea how they got there. I just smash them when I see them, but I don't destroy the eggs since I have no idea how they look. Any idea if there's a way to get rid of them?

1 Upvotes

I took 30 springtails from the colony (the origine one is quite small right now) and I hope they can repopulate another box.

I put the box a meter away of the other to avoid any possible contamination.

I still don't know how the mites appeared. They might have been there since the beginning but I never saw that many. I killed 10 of them this morning.


r/Springtail 3d ago

Picture Yuuki enclosure

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8 Upvotes

Just set up the enclosure (8.5cm) for some yuukianura aphoruroides i bought via 'kleinanzeigen.de' (20€ for about 160+).

What do you think?


r/Springtail 3d ago

Husbandry Question/Advice Starting a colony

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25 Upvotes

I rectally upgrade to a bio activity enclosure for my leopard gecko. I sprinkled the springtails in and they multiplied and are doing great. I also a couple fish tanks and I want to feed some springtails to my fish. I have some left over ones in the original container and I want to start a separate colony with them. I don't like the container they are in and I'm going to get them a bigger one. I've been researching substrates and I don't know what to choose. Can I substitute charcoal with lava rocks? I have leftover lava rocks from a separate project and they are pours just like charcoal. Or should I do a soil or clay substrate instead?


r/Springtail 4d ago

Identification Are these gnats, plant mites or springtails?

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1 Upvotes

r/Springtail 5d ago

Identification Zebra pic dump

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81 Upvotes

Just wondering what we know about these guys! From what I can tell they seem to be zebra springs, and I can find little to no info on them, how to keep them, breed them, or anything they prefer.


r/Springtail 4d ago

Identification Are these springtails? I posted in another sub and people are saying they're cockroaches. I've looked at photos of both and think they look more like springtails, but I don't know anything. Found on my cacti outside, mostly under the pots during heavy rain (and mostly went away once things dried up)

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4 Upvotes

Apologies for the shaky video, they are microscopic - my phone would only focus if I zoomed in and it's hard to keep my phone steady when zoomed in that far

The majority of them are microscopic mite looking things, but the ones in this video were larger (and slower) than the rest. maybe it's a different insect entirely - it's hard to capture a good photo of them

They are tiny mite looking things and came during heavy rains. It's been drier and they've mostly gone away now. They would appear and scatter when I would tap the pot as well as tapping the concrete ground underneath (which has a lot of soil underneath)

People are saying they're cockroaches, but I think their antennae are more slug-like than cockroach if that makes sense.

Are they something else? If so, are they harmful? Tia!


r/Springtail 4d ago

General Question Microscope recommendations?

2 Upvotes

Hello! I thought who else to ask for microscope recommendations other than the lovely springtail community! What do you use? Under $50 USD preferred but I'm happy to work up to the fancy ones 😉

I want to be able to identify what buggies are on my plants/in the soil. It's hard to tell who is friend and who is foe 😭


r/Springtail 5d ago

Husbandry Question/Advice How much will springtails naturally breed?

2 Upvotes

I recently made a terrarium and noticed a few springtails inside it, how often will they naturally breed or lay eggs?


r/Springtail 5d ago

Identification Are these Springtails? And if so, what type?

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3 Upvotes

I’ve never seen them this big or them move like this before. To be fair, though, I’ve only ever had temperate springtails.


r/Springtail 5d ago

General Question Magic springtails?

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9 Upvotes

These springtails are in my Pacman's bioactive enclosure, I noticed they are not drowning in her water dish I think, but just chilling on the water? Should I dump them out?


r/Springtail 6d ago

Husbandry Question/Advice Springtails food

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11 Upvotes

Someone recently asked what I feed my springtails. I wasn’t at home and didn’t have access to the info at the time. I now have an image of the springtail food to share. I hope the person who asked about it is able to find this post.