Springtails (OrderCollembola) form the largest of the three orders of modern Hexapods that are no longer considered to be insects (along with the Protura and Diplura). The three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouth parts, but they do not appear to be more closely related to one another than they do to the insects, which have external mouthparts. Recent genetic studies suggest that the Collembola are a separate evolutionary line from the other Hexapoda.
Members of Collembola are normally less than 6 mm in length, have six or fewer abdominal segments and possess a tubular appendage (the collophore) in the first abdominal segment. An abdominal, tail-like appendage, called the furcula, is present in most species and is folded beneath the body, to be used for jumping when the animal is threatened. Springtails are frequently found in leaf litter and other decaying material. The suborder Arthropleona has an elongated body in contrast to the globular body of the Symphypleona.
Collembola are small, wingless hexapods, either pigmented or white, normally 1-2 mm long; the mouth-parts are enclosed within the buccal cavity (mouth); one pair of elongate maxillae and one pair of mandibles are enclosed by the labrum and labium.
Collembola generally are sensitive indicators of disturbances, such as oil pollution on beaches and chemical pollution of rivers and streams and therefore are of value in environmental assessment.
Collembola act as catalysts in the breakdown of organic matter and in the cycling of plant nutrients by grazing on and distributing propagules of microorganisms and, through their feeding and other activities and the deposition of faecal material, they can alter the physical properties and structure of soils.
Evidence of Collembola was found in images of scrapings from 18 of the 20 individuals that had been diagnosed as delusional.
Collembola were present in ninety percent of the study participants who complained of stinging/biting and/or crawling sensations on or under their skin.
Griffiths, G. Hypogastrua succinea (Collembola: Hypogastruridae) dispersed by adults of the cabbage maggot, Delia radicum (Diptera: Anthomyiidae), infected with the parasitic fungus, Strongewellsea castrans (Zygomycetes: Entomophtoraceae).
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