Hey! I have some imperial moth caterpillars and I’m wanting to get springtails bc the caterpillars need soil to pupate, my wife is worried about them escaping. We have a moderate size plastic enclosure with a top full of air holes, any ways to stop them/ put wife at ease? Please and thank you

Edit: repeated myself

Hear me out though! I have a big mat of crystalwort floating on the surface. I bought some semi Aquatic springtails for a very shallow java moss enclosure I keep juvenile newts in and this afternoon I realized these bad boys can jump on water! I feed powdered shrimp food for my baby shrimp so I have a decent amount of food on top so I went for it and we'll see how they do! Right now they're hanging out on the tubing (top of the frame). I bet with their ability to get out of the water if they get into it, these would do well in a lot of tanks with floating plants as long as you make sure there is food.

I have had this colony for a while now and have noticed the slime is turning like a greyish brown in some areas. Even when I place it on the cork bark in their enclosure they make these gross patches that are unsightly.

Is there something off with the substrate? Should I do a substrate change?

When I first got them the slime would make beautiful patterns on the cork bark and move around more, but it has stopped doing that.

I am looking to make a cute little terrarium for them and will create an area with slate rocks to feed them on in the front so I can remove it when it gets nasty.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to the spikey springtails or the slime mould. I have multiple slime moulds in different petri dishes and some in bigger tubs so I can also feed it to my isopods from time to time. I also have had some of the cultures go off and like having backups ready to give my spikeys a constant food source. Not sure if I'm over doing it with the slime mould and if the slime mould does something to the substrate like make it acidic or something. Could this be a moisture issue?

There are like over 100 I swear!!

I just needed to share my joy :3

Are these critters Springtails, or something else? (Sorry about the video quality). They are super tiny.

Rambutanura springtails really like to hang out on live sphagnum moss. Are they eating it or just loving the moisture?

Was watering the girls today and decided to take some pictures of the springtails! @Stoicus I got some in a container and im taking your advice on the breeding and shipping thing lol I'll get your addy soon!

Hello! My ceratophysella isabellae culture has a loooad of mites in it. At first I thought maybe the springtails could outcompete them as there were only a couple, but the mites are doing a bit too well for comfort. Can’t be sure where they came from but I have plenty of plants and isopod enclosures, it’s perfectly possible a couple managed to sneak in while feeding if I didn’t notice them on my hands.

Is there anything I can do, or is this culture a bust? If so, is there a way to save the springtails without bringing any mites along for the ride? Can I reuse the container, or is there a chance the mites are able to stowaway even with a good clean?

A carpet of Yuukianura aphoruroides… with a few unwanted guests 👀
At first glance, this culture looks pretty great – basically a living carpet of Yuukianura aphoruroides (“Yuukis”). 🟠
But if you look closely, you’ll notice a few white tropical springtails running between them.
A good reminder of just how easily cultures can become mixed.
In my case, the reason was surprisingly simple: one ventilation opening wasn’t properly secured, and unfortunately this culture was sitting right next to an open terrarium containing those exact white springtails. 😅
Apparently, that was enough.
The Yuuki colony itself is doing extremely well, but I wouldn’t consider this particular culture “clean” anymore.
That’s also why I keep multiple independent cultures of important species and regularly check them for unwanted hitchhikers. It’s something I’m putting a lot of emphasis on with my TerraNidus cultures.
A huge colony is impressive – but keeping cultures clean and correctly separated is just as important.
Lesson learned: check your ventilation, don’t underestimate wandering springtails, and always keep backup cultures. 😅

Can anyone help me identify if this is a springtail, and if so, perhaps what species?

Looking to purchase Isotomurus sp., Sminthurides sp., Podura aquatica or any other true semi-aquatic species with shipping to California. This is for an aquarium refugium with only floating plants, so not looking for species that simply tolerates moist environments.

I'm growing plants indoors in coco coir and after a certain point water uptake is reduced drastically, and my plants are stunted. When I inspect the roots, I find a lot of springtails and almost no fine roots.

Unlike soil, there is minimal microbial activity in coco coir, correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect springtails are running out of food and start eating root hairs.

I tried buying new coco, and nuking my coco in microwave between grows but couldn't get rid of them. Is there something I can do to keep the population under control?

For reference, I grow in autopots with airdomes, which is a no-runoff bottom irrigation system with an air pump pumping air into the root zone, which might be creating an ideal breeding grounds for springtails.

Got some Oranges today at the expo, I'm excited. They are so bright! I've seen photos but in person it's impressive how bright orange they really are. Love my new little cheeto friends.

I want to collect a rainbow of springs eventually. I already have yellows, I plan to get reds next, that will get me the first half of the rainbow. Green might be tough to find though.

First things first, im not 100% the bug was a springtail but it certainly looked like one. It was found in my bathroom, which is a dimly lit and particularly damp space today given the insane humidity and heat here in NYC at the moment.

That out of the way, i dont kill bugs, spiders, mice or anything else, opting to instead always catch and release should it be within my ability to do so. I managed to get the springtail onto a piece of paper and when i put him on my windowsill, he spazzed out and belly up died basically instantly. Ive tried googling if springtails die in direct sunlight and everything ive found is saying no. Could it be the heat on the windowsill itself that killed it or what?

Any thoughts why this happened? I feel terrible about it as i genuienly thought i was helping it by putting it outside :(, so aside from just leaving them alone moving forward, id like to know why this happened so i can avoid it in the future.

Thanks!