Date First Recorded in the Garden: 27/08/2023

Family Entomobryidae: The Slender Springtails

A good size family of springtails with approximately 1700 species worldwide and a good number are found in Great Britain. They tend to be large springtails, and are the prey for many other invertebrates, such as ground beetles and crab spiders.

Orchesella villosa

A very common species of springtail, and a little surprised it took us so long to first record it. The dense hairs are a feature of this species, along with the pattern, but this varies considerably within this genus. The most likely species this will be confused with is O. cincta. We have marked this ‘most likely species’ due to the uncertainty raised by this variation and the less than clear markings on the individual we have seen above.

Ref: Hopkin, S P. A Key to the Collembola (Springtails) of Britain and Ireland. Field Studies Council 2007. First Edition. This publication has a good set of black and white drawings of the patterns, but our specimen is so faded it is unclear. Others can see what they think by watching the youtube short below. Note that whilst this is a larger species of springtail, it is nonetheless tiny and difficult to film.

In the Garden

We have recorded this species on the moss covered steps, where it resides along with several other springtail species. Allowing such vegetation to grow undisturbed is recommended as it does offer a good way of observing these tiny creatures.