Insect Order Collembola - the springtail
The springtail are small, primitive wingless
insects. Although crawling is their usual method of locomotion, they
have a jumping apparatus at the end of their abdomen They range in
length from 1 to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches). called a furcula. It
permits some mighty leaps, which is the origin of the common name "springtail."
There are about
3,500 species. Springtail are found in all types of soil and leaf
litter throughout the world from Antarctica to the Arctic, and are one
of the most widely distributed insects. Certain springtails known as snow
fleas are active at near-freezing temperatures and may appear in large
numbers on snow surfaces. Springtails live in soil and on water and feed
on decaying vegetable matter, sometimes damaging garden crops and mushrooms.
Fossil springtails are among the oldest insect fossils known.