Injurious and Useful Insects by Louis Compton Miall

They have antennae and tiny, simple eyes, but neither they nor their ancestors ever had wings (they are primitively wingless) and because most lack a tracheal system, they breathe through their cuticle. Like the Jumping Bristletail, of recent BOTW fame, they wear their mouthparts on the inside ( endognathous) rather than the outside (which makes it impossible for springtails to nibble on people, despite anecdotes to the contrary). Depending on the humidity (and humidity is very important to an ST) there can be massive numbers of individuals – 300 million STs (or more) on/in an acre of prime land.Ī word about the general appearance/biology of springtails: There are two basic body types – cigar-shaped and globular. Most kinds of springtail are found on land, leading invisible lives in leaf litter and soil, anyplace that has a little moisture, even Antarctica.

There are lots of generic springtails leaping around – more than 8,200 species worldwide (700+ in North America). The first fossil of a terrestrial arthropod ever found was a springtail that dated back 400 million years. They seem to have evolved from a non-insect ancestor, and they evolved alongside insects. Springtails are an amazing bunch of former-insects – older insect books list them in Class Insecta (they do have 6 legs), but recent thinking, supported by DNA analysis, is that they belong in their own Class – Collembola. Having delved last time into the mysteries of the meniscus, the BugLady is introducing more creatures of the surface film, the semi aquatic springtails (SASTs).

Injurious and Useful Insects by Louis Compton Miall