Experimenting with detritivores

[schmiggle]

Which one? The 2 greys are both unostrigata, white is Sinella curviseta, small bluish ones are Lepidocyrtus.

Guess I meant the Sinella

 

[XxSpiderQueenxX]

How do you find the Onychiuridae? I love how they look! the only springtails I find/keep are what you identified as I think the common tropical ones (Sinella something?)

 

[Ponerinecat]

How do you find the Onychiuridae? I love how they look! the only springtails I find/keep are what you identified as I think the common tropical ones (Sinella something?)

I have 2 species of them. The longer, prolific ones are subterranean and can easily be found in moist soil. They can be hard to spot at first as they curl up into balls and stay still when disturbed. The second pudgier species was found under half submerged rocks on the edge of a local (manmade?) pond. Rancid mud is surprisingly diverse! Speaking of Onychiuridae, my group of the second species have died out. I'll try a different setup the nest time I can collect some. On a different note, heres some cute velvet mites that came in on the liverwort I collected. Didn't know we even had them here.

 

[schmiggle]

On a different note, heres some cute velvet mites that came in on the liverwort I collected. Didn't know we even had them here

Beautiful! I think velvet mites are cosmopolitan (maybe not in desert or tundra). When I knew what to look for I started seeing them all over the place.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Beautiful! I think velvet mites are cosmopolitan (maybe not in desert or tundra). When I knew what to look for I started seeing them all over the place.

South Californian deserts are home to Dinothrombidium, so they can live in very dry places. Heres another species I found yesterday, a single individual under a log next to some Brachycibe producta. Surprising that they've already started to come out without rain, perhaps the fog we got wettened the soil sufficiently.

 

[Kazeres]

So interesting thread!! I had a tiny colony of oribatids in my isopods bin but I didnt know what kind of mites was.

I have three or more species of springtails living along my isopods, but I dont know what specie are.

I found ball like springtails living on water surface of my tanks of fish.

 

[Ponerinecat]

So interesting thread!! I had a tiny colony of oribatids in my isopods bin but I didnt know what kind of mites was.

I have three or more species of springtails living along my isopods, but I dont know what specie are.

I found ball like springtails living on water surface of my tanks of fish.

Ball like springtails are globulars of some sort, if you're in Europe then Sminthruides seems like a likely genus.

 

[Kazeres]

What cam or microscope do you use to make photos of springtail??

 

[Ponerinecat]

What cam or microscope do you use to make photos of springtail??

I use a nikkon d3300 with a nikkor af 18-55mm kit lens. Far from ideal and I have to crop the actual photos a ton(which is why they're so grainy) but an actual macro lens is out of my budget range.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Now that I've established a populous mixed culture, I'll try a few isolated cultures, as that will make it much easier to sell these when I find the time to do that.

Some Entomobrya unostrigata in their box, they may be a relatively bland springtail but I do enjoy how their color can range from a clay like orange to a greenish grey. They're also one of the largest entomobryomorphs here and the largest I currently have in culture, size is always a plus with springtails.

 

[Kazeres]

How easy breed simphylams and diplurans???

 

[Ponerinecat]

How easy breed simphylams and diplurans???

Symphylans are really easy, they can actually be kept in a conventional charcoal tub if you get rid of the stagnant water and instead just have moist charcoal. Diplurans I haven't had much success with, but they should be relatively simple as well. Both feed on decaying plant matter, unless you have japygid diplurans which are predatory.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Check out this tiny glob I found under my trap. Not sure if it's a juvenile or just a really small species, either way it goes in with my Isotomurus.

 

[schmiggle]

Check out this tiny glob I found under my trap. Not sure if it's a juvenile or just a really small species, either way it goes in with my Isotomurus.
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I love it! It's like something out of a Ghibli film.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Lotta stuff today, so much so I have to make 2 individual posts to accomodate for it. Found a lot more of those tiny white globs, which I've identified as an arrhopalitidae sp.



Here's the tiniest springtail I've ever seen, a newly hatched glob. I'll admit I didn't see this guy until I started editing my photos.


Some long legged Eupodidae, I caught 2 individual interacting on camera. Social behavior or merely inspection?




Odd white disc shaped mites, no idea what these are.



Orb like reddish mites, probably an oribatid.


An elongated eupodoidea.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Some purplish silver entomobridae.



Second Dicyrtomidae of the year!



With an Isotomurus.


With an arrhopalitidae.


And perhaps my favorite find, an adorable little female Myrmecophilus cricket.



These are all going in with my Isotomurus, I'll get a mixed culture going and then separate them into species specific ones.

 

[Arthroverts]

@Ponerinecat, your fascination with micro species is inspiring. Can you go become a collembologist and microarachnologist or something ?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Ponerinecat]

@Ponerinecat, your fascination with micro species is inspiring. Can you go become a collembologist and microarachnologist or something ?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Haha, I'd love to. Planning on having some field of biology regarding small arthropods be my college education, although I'm not certain of which one yet. Entomology is my go to for now, specifically myrmecology.

 

[schmiggle]

Daddy long leg mites..huh.

The globs are adorable, as usual. Hope you have better luck with them this time.

Be a collembologist, ants are so 1995.

 

[XxSpiderQueenxX]

I have these in my isopod culture as well! they like to roam on the wood and congregate inside condensation droplets.