#Sminthurinus
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jamesimcc.bsky.social
I've reached 100 British springtail species! This was helped by a recent glasshouse sampling trip, where I added these 4 species.

3 are now in the pipeline to have reference-quality genomes sequenced for the first time, by the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social. More info in the thread below! 🧵1/7
Sminthurinus bimaculatus. Sminthurinus igniceps. Seira domestica. Sminthurides bifidus.
August 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
justinchan.bsky.social
And of course they also make such amazing and charismatic photo subjects! Starting from the left: Undescribed Ptenothrix sp., Sminthurinus henshawi, Fungus infected Ptenothrix, Ptenothrix beta
November 12, 2024 at 1:12 AM
mesofauna.bsky.social
A moody Sminthurinus aureus f ochropus.
May 13, 2023 at 12:54 PM
ed-phillips.bsky.social
A globular springtail - Sminthurinus elegans - under a fallen Beech leaf in the garden this morning. I'm a bit out of practice photographing things this small (~0.5mm) but will improve as the damper weather progresses! #collembola #mesofauna #macro #photography #Staffs
Macro photograph of the globular springtail Sminthurinus elegans.
September 9, 2025 at 8:26 AM
asters-planetai.bsky.social
En una maceta de mi terraza viven estos colémbolos minúsculos. Viene a ser un puntito tan pequeño que si no se está moviendo no lo ves. Pero lo enfocas con la cámara y aparece esta cosa tan cuqui 😍

Tengo claro que es Sminthurinus, pero no sé si bimaculatus...

#colembolo #springtail #Sminthurinus
February 28, 2025 at 9:35 PM
duerden.bsky.social
Sminthurinus elegans and Sminthurides signatus hiding in a mossy corner of the garden at RSPB Hope Farm today! #Springtails #Collembola
October 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
rback.bsky.social
(Probably) Sminthurinus aureus feeding on Lasiosphaeris hirsuta.
More (in Swedish) here:
utgangspunktnykarleby.blogspot.com/2026/06/trad...

#Collembola #Hoppstjärtar #Springtails #Hyppyhäntäiset #Ascomycota #Fungi #Fungus #Svampar #Svamp #Sienet
#Invertebrate 🐙
#Biodiversity
Sminthurinus aureus (likely) feeding on Lasiosphaeris hirsuta.
June 26, 2026 at 6:39 PM
ed-phillips.bsky.social
The globular springtail Sminthurinus aureus (dark form) in the garden this morning. Very small (< 1 mm). #Staffs #collembola #springtail #LeafLitter #mesofauna #macro #photography
Macro photograph of a globular springtail in a Staffordshire garden.
September 25, 2025 at 10:48 AM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
Good news! >6000 springtail records have been imported from iRecord and are now available on the NBN Atlas: species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNS...
Massive thanks to @duerden.bsky.social for his investment in verifying iRecord records.
Keep them coming!
A particularly luminous individual of Sminthurinus aureus (orange form)
April 21, 2025 at 9:51 AM
ed-phillips.bsky.social
A selection of globular springtails found under fallen leaves on our garden lawn this morning. A Dicyrtomina species at the bottom and Sminthurinus aureus (dark form) and S. elegans at the top. #collembola #mesofauna #Staffs #macro #photography
Composite photograph of globular springtails found in a Staffordshire garden.
November 7, 2025 at 10:49 AM
justinchan.bsky.social
It's also been fun to get some of the first species records up on iNaturalist. Some of these are incredibly abundant, but there's just not many people out there looking for >0.5mm critters. From left to right: Sminthurinus lawrencei, Pygmarrhopalites bellingeri, Arrhopalites diversus
November 12, 2024 at 1:07 AM
asters-planetai.bsky.social
Subo estas otras imágenes por si ayudan con la identificación.

#colembolo #springtail #Sminthurinus #fotografiamacro #macrophotography #fotografiadenaturaleza
February 28, 2025 at 9:35 PM
jaiiiiiii1.bsky.social
Pro tip: Hit leaves with sticks in plastic container

#entomology #collembola #springtails🪲
Sminthurinus elegans, climbing up a small snail shell Orchesella cincta Dicyrtomina species, this one's a juvenile so hard for me to ID Same as the previous image, Dicyrtomina sp.
October 26, 2024 at 4:24 PM
rback.bsky.social
Sminthurinus bimaculatus or trinotatus.
One observation report on trinotatus and two on bimaculatus here in Finland. All of those reports are fairly vague and supposedly not necessarily true species identifications.

#Invertebrate #Collembola #Springtails #Hoppstjärtar #Biodiversity
Sminthurinus bimaculatus/trinotus feeding on microbes, algae or fungus on decomposing wood. Sminthurinus bimaculatus/trinotus feeding on microbes, algae or fungus on decomposing wood.
August 29, 2026 at 10:26 AM
arnoldtortoise.bsky.social
Collembola found under pine in Brede High Woods this morning before rain stopped play. Wondering about Sminthurinus, but hoping someone like @jamesimcc.bsky.social will jump in and help!

#Collembola #HighWeald
A collembola with mottled maroon coloured body, buff coloured head with black eyes, and buff coloured antennae that darken toward the tips
February 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
This beautiful species, Sminthurinus bimaculatus, has been the British springtail I've most wanted to see. As with the other 3 spp., it's primarily synanthropic, meaning it's associated with human habitats like this flowerpot. 🧵2/7
August 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
mossworm.bsky.social
purple guy is a Lepidocyrtus springtail, spotty guy is a Sminthurinus springtail (I think it's just called "two-spotted springtail")
December 28, 2025 at 5:15 AM
sgn.one
📣 #Forschungsnews: Regenwürmer, Springschwänze und viele weitere Bodentiere betreiben rund um die Uhr ein komplexes Energiesystem. Neue Studie zeigt: Diese Bodennahrungsnetze unterscheiden sich in gemäßigten und tropischen Wäldern grundlegend. 🌱🪱
👉 https://sgn.one/s5h

📷 C. Schneider
Nahaufnahme eines winzigen, gelblichen Springschwanzes aus der Gattung Sminthurinus auf einer hellen Oberfläche mit unscharfem Hintergrund. Nahaufnahme eines bläulichen Bodentiers mit segmentiertem Körper auf moosbedecktem Boden.
February 3, 2026 at 10:20 AM
ajcann.bsky.social
Another instance of DNA not helping - but finding a way forward with Sminthurinus:
collembolla.blogspot.com/2025/02/anot...
#Collembola #Springtails #DNA #Taxonomy
Another instance of DNA not helping
Five years ago I had a crisis of confidence when Peter Shaw published his paper on DNA analysis of  Lepidocyrtus - see: Big trouble in Lepi...
collembolla.blogspot.com
February 16, 2025 at 11:48 AM
jamesimcc.bsky.social
This is Sminthurinus igniceps, a relative but less distinctive. It can be told from dark S. aureus by having a head paler than the body, and from S. domesticus by having mostly orangey antennae.

This species is also synanthropic, but seemingly moving out more into the wider countryside. 🧵4/7
August 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
bertdevries.bsky.social
Found these little guys in the garden yesterday, grazing on lichen. Very small (body size approximately 0.6-0.7 mm). I presume they're springtails of the genus Sminthurinus, but I'm out of my depth here. Can anyone confirm? #Springtails #Collembola #lichen ##lichenology
Two very small beetle-like creatures with rounded elliptical abdomens, of a black-blue colour not unlike blueberries, sitting on and probably feeding on predominantly green-grey lichen. The photograph is a little blurry, because this is at the end of what is feasible with my phone camera.
January 3, 2025 at 8:39 AM
jaiiiiiii1.bsky.social
Never knew that, mine was a clay plantpot too! Need to start reading more of the descriptions + notes in the Hopkin key, lo and behold...
An extract describing Sminthurinus bimaculatus, from the Field Studies Council release 'A key to the Collembola (springtail) of Britain and Ireland' by John Hopkin. A highlighted part reads "Most records are from plantpots" In full: "NOTE: Apart from the colouration, the morphology of Sminthurinus bimaculatus is identical to that of Sminthurinus aureus. There are a few scattered literature records for Sminthurinus bimaculatus from hothouses, but also from localities out of doors. Most records are from flower pots. However, without checking the presence or absence of ventral subapical setae, it is impossible to know the exact identity of these specimens. They could have been confused with Sminthurinus trinotatus which also has two white spots (but has two ventral subapical setae on entral subapical setae on the dens). There are no specimens of Sminthurinus bimaculatus in the NHML."
August 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM
cfollicularis.bsky.social
Sminthurinus trinotatus? Entomology folks, can you confirm? It strikes me as odd that they’d be in a pot of strawberries in Minnesota.
April 30, 2026 at 12:15 PM
murderspagurder.bsky.social
Uncropped images, mostly Sminthurinus sp. and Sphaeridia pumilis. Images are about 10.5mm across for size reference.
July 24, 2025 at 12:31 AM
thesheepcat.bsky.social
Nearby in the patch of very shallow icy water, a globular springtail (Sminthurinus elegans) eventually crawled onto a millipede. Though to me the scene looks relatively sparse, I can see several other organisms about, including a smooth springtail and a little orange thing.
Close-up photo of shallow water on light brown muddy sand. In the centre is a narrow white tubular creature in a spiral posture. Near the right edge of the image, by what appears to be a partially decayed stalk, is a long, thin beige animal with antennae pointing out at an angle. Near the left edge is a red button-like shape. Several small, dark globules are embedded in the sand. At centre-right is a small orange blob, not yet identified. Bits of fine vegetative matter give a greenish cast to parts of the image. Mostly around the perimeter of the image, not in focus, are several clusters of bubbles. Macro photo of a millipede, curled into a shape resembling a bass clef or a human ear. It lies on its side, its many legs, which glisten in the sunlight, facing inward. It is mostly white with a dark dot on most of the segments. Standing upon it, about as long as the millipede is wide, is a dark bluish gray creature with orange legs and antennae. At top left is a bubble that is almost large enough to surround the springtail. Macro photo, zoomed in from the second image. It shows the front end of a millipede lying on its side and curled in an arc. It is pinkish white with a dark spot on most of the segments. Its many legs, which glisten in the sunlight, point inward. The shapes are pretty uniform for most of its length and distinctive at the very front, at the bottom left of the image. Standing upon it, about as long as the millipede is wide, is a dark bluish gray creature with a gently wrinkled surface on its globular body and flattish round head. Its legs and antennae are orange. At top left is a bubble that is almost large enough to surround the springtail. Macro photo of an unidentified object in the water. One end is ovoid with orange markings, and the other end apparently tapers to a point. It may be translucent or camouflaged: its colour resembles that of the sand, on which it appears to cast a shadow.
January 19, 2025 at 11:04 PM