Aquatic Invertebrates of Montana

Collembola

Introduction

Springtails. A fairly small order of mostly minute insects (or hexapods), 6000 species worldwide, 7 families and 677 species in North America, north of Mexico. Aquatic only in the pleuston. Apterygota- Ametabolous.

Recognition

Form distinctive- wingless; mandibulate mouthparts withdrawn into the head (Entognatha); abdomen with 6 or fewer segments; no cerci; furcula, retinaculum, and collophore usually present; antennae short with 4 to 6 segments.

Life Cycle

No metamorphosis, molting continues after adulthood. Many are viviparous.

Trophic Roles

Most are scavengers, collector-gatherers.

Communities

Fairly complex in damp, loose soils, shorelines and litter situations, but simple on the water surface (neuston), interstitial areas, intertidal areas or on the surface of snow and ice. None normally occur only under water.

Economic Importance

Important soil organisms, rarely a pest in greenhouses or mushroom cellars.

Collecting

Usually obtained by skimming the water surface with a fine net or extracted from shoreline debris with a Berlese funnel. Pitfall traps take many specimens.

Preservation

Specimens can be fixed and stored directly in 70-90% ethanol. Many are best studied when mounted on slides.

Taxonomy

Fairly well known by soil experts. A order of Entognatha, which is often removed from the Insecta to make 2 classes of the Hexapoda.

Other Sites

• UD Collembola page
• Tree of Life Collembola page