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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » [obsolete rank] - elevate included Orders to Class (Entognatha) » Springtails and allies (Collembola) » Globular Springtails (Symphypleona) » Katiannidae » Sminthurinus » Sminthurinus quadrimaculatus
Photo#103369
Globular Springtail - Sminthurinus quadrimaculatus
Copyright © 2007 tom murray

Globular Springtail - Sminthurinus quadrimaculatus
Groton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
April 15, 2007
Size: .4-.5mm
This must be around the second instar.

Images of this individual: tag all
Globular Springtail - Sminthurinus quadrimaculatus Globular Springtail - Sminthurinus quadrimaculatus
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Contributed by tom murray on 15 April, 2007 - 12:14pm

Given the relative small size
it must be a juvenile specimen. Adults can be up to 1.2 mm and may have a completely black abdomen except for the 4 white patches.
The spots may be a kind of mimicry. If you look at the specimen from behind the abdomen resembles a kind of head with two large white eyes with inbetween the mouthparts.
Or is it just my imagination...? ;-)
… Frans Janssens, 16 April, 2007 - 3:28am login or register to post comments

 
Mimicry
The spots do look like they could be false eyes, but at that small size, I don't know what even the larger eye-spots could scare:-)
… tom murray, 16 April, 2007 - 7:12am login or register to post comments

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