Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Images made through a microscope. All subject types.

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hkv
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Location: Sweden

Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Post by hkv »

Springtails are tiny soil-dwelling animals (around 1-2 mm) and play a vital role in our ecosystem. These fascinating organisms are essential for soil health, breaking down organic matter and recycling nutrients to support plant growth. But what’s even more remarkable is their unique hydrophobic ability – springtails are coated with specialized skin structures that repel water, allowing them to stay completely dry, even in the wettest conditions!
The close-up is the small section just to the top left of the left antenna (where it attaches to the head). It is some kind of sensory organ I assume? They seem to have no eyes and spend most of their time in darkness deep in the soil.
I had to struggle to even get these sink into the glutaraldehyde and ethanol for SEM sample preparation. Eventually I put them in a small centrifuge tube filled to the top and closed the lid to force them under the surface.

Last image is a close-up of a hair (bristle) follicle. Its design is almost like an artistic brick-work with a ring of bricks around the bristle. Magnification of the last image is X16000 (printed on a 20 cm paper)

I think the genus is Protaphorura sp. but I am not sure.

I would appreciate any input on the role of the two sensory organs that you can see in the second close-up.

ImageSpringtail_SEM-1 by Håkan Kvarnström Photography, on Flickr

ImageSpringtail_SEM-2 by Håkan Kvarnström Photography, on Flickr

ImageSpringtail_SEM-3 by Håkan Kvarnström Photography, on Flickr

Sym P. le
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Location: BC

Re: Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Post by Sym P. le »

The larger organ is referred to as the Post-antennal Organ or PAO. Frans Janssens at collembola.org is very approachable and will respond to your e-mail. If you tag your Flickr image with collembola, he will see it.

Beatsy
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Re: Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Post by Beatsy »

Stupendous! The details are completely fascinating. Oh, how I wish the wavelength of visible light was 1000x shorter... :D

hkv
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Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:58 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Post by hkv »

Sym P. le wrote:
Tue Nov 12, 2024 6:06 pm
The larger organ is referred to as the Post-antennal Organ or PAO. Frans Janssens at collembola.org is very approachable and will respond to your e-mail. If you tag your Flickr image with collembola, he will see it.
Thanks! That helped! I found a lot of useful information there. The organ seems to be a sensory organ for temperature and humidity.

hkv
Posts: 580
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:58 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Post by hkv »

Beatsy wrote:
Wed Nov 13, 2024 1:55 am
Stupendous! The details are completely fascinating. Oh, how I wish the wavelength of visible light was 1000x shorter... :D
Well, yes, that would be very convenient!

Sym P. le
Posts: 347
Joined: Thu Jul 04, 2019 9:53 pm
Location: BC

Re: Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Post by Sym P. le »

It is with sad regret to report that Frans Janssens passed away in Nov. 2024. He was by far the most approachable denizen in the field of collembola (commonly springtails), encouraging an enthusiastic group of budding macro photographers and otherwise students in the field. He would readily offer id's of even the most marginal photos and assembled a vast collection of photos on his website collembola.org.

His last post on bugguide.net was Sept. 26 and news of his passing was posted on Facebook.

hkv
Posts: 580
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:58 pm
Location: Sweden

Re: Springtail - Protaphorura sp. (Collembola: Onychiuridae)

Post by hkv »

Sym P. le wrote:
Sun Jan 12, 2025 5:11 pm
It is with sad regret to report that Frans Janssens passed away in Nov. 2024. He was by far the most approachable denizen in the field of collembola (commonly springtails), encouraging an enthusiastic group of budding macro photographers and otherwise students in the field. He would readily offer id's of even the most marginal photos and assembled a vast collection of photos on his website collembola.org.

His last post on bugguide.net was Sept. 26 and news of his passing was posted on Facebook.
Oh, very sorry to hear that.

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