ChuckyHigh PR
Member
Just did a lil reserch on these and got a lil info for everybody =) any sugestions are welcome...
Springtails or Collembola play a positive role in the establishment of plant-fungal symbioses and thus are beneficial to agriculture. They also contribute to control plant fungal diseases through their active consumption of mycelia and spores of damping-off and pathogenic fungi. It has been suggested that they could be reared to be used for the control of pathogenic fungi in greenhouses and other indoor cultures.
Springtails are currently used in laboratory tests for the early detection of soil pollution because in the real world Collembola may move far from pollution sources
Springtails have a tail-like appendage, the furcula, that is folded beneath the body to be used for jumping when the animal is threatened.(This is what happens when they come up from your soil when u water it) It is held under tension by a small structure called the retinaculum and when released, snaps against the substrate, flinging the springtail into the air. All of this takes place in as little as 18 milliseconds
In sheer numbers, they are reputed to be one of the most abundant of all macroscopic animals, with estimates of 100,000 individuals per cubic meter of topsoil, essentially everywhere on Earth where soil and related habitats (moss cushions, fallen wood, grass tufts, ant nests) occur.
Given that springtails are moulting(this is when an animal routinely casts off a part of its body,often but not always an outer layer or covering repeatedly during their entire life) they spend much time in concealed micro-sites where they can find protection against desiccation(dryness) and predation.
Springtails or Collembola play a positive role in the establishment of plant-fungal symbioses and thus are beneficial to agriculture. They also contribute to control plant fungal diseases through their active consumption of mycelia and spores of damping-off and pathogenic fungi. It has been suggested that they could be reared to be used for the control of pathogenic fungi in greenhouses and other indoor cultures.
Springtails are currently used in laboratory tests for the early detection of soil pollution because in the real world Collembola may move far from pollution sources
Springtails have a tail-like appendage, the furcula, that is folded beneath the body to be used for jumping when the animal is threatened.(This is what happens when they come up from your soil when u water it) It is held under tension by a small structure called the retinaculum and when released, snaps against the substrate, flinging the springtail into the air. All of this takes place in as little as 18 milliseconds
In sheer numbers, they are reputed to be one of the most abundant of all macroscopic animals, with estimates of 100,000 individuals per cubic meter of topsoil, essentially everywhere on Earth where soil and related habitats (moss cushions, fallen wood, grass tufts, ant nests) occur.
Given that springtails are moulting(this is when an animal routinely casts off a part of its body,often but not always an outer layer or covering repeatedly during their entire life) they spend much time in concealed micro-sites where they can find protection against desiccation(dryness) and predation.
