Cotton Springtail? - Entomobrya unostrigata

Moved

… Ken Wolgemuth, 31 January, 2016 - 7:39pm

Moved

… Ken Wolgemuth, 31 January, 2016 - 7:37pm

Entomobrya sp.

Great ventral shot revealing the furca. And the linea ventralis: the ventral midline running from the front of the collophore to the labium. This is a peculiar organ: labial kidneys produce a kind of urine that is transported via the linea ventralis, which is a cuticular groove, by capillary forces, to the tip of the collophore. The eversible vesicles of the collophore may recycle electrolytes from the urine by osmosis. The rest is discharged into the surface waterfilm of a wet substrate. So this is how Collembola urinate ;-)

BTW, I'm intigued why you call this specimen 'cotton' springtail?

… Frans Janssens, 31 January, 2016 - 10:44am

Thank you Frans!

Thank you also for your explanation of springtail structure and function.
Much after finishing the photo session, I realized that I did not take dorsal shots of this springtail. The reasons that I assumed it was the cotton springtail:
It is a similar size (large for a springtail) and color
Entomobrya unostrigata has been an abundant species for several months here in El Paso.
However, I did not observe the dorsal patterns.

… Salvador Vitanza, 31 January, 2016 - 11:06am

Entomobrya unostrigata

Seems to be the best match then.
The shots are a great addition to complete the photographic documentation of this species.

… Frans Janssens, 31 January, 2016 - 11:11am

I am glad to see

that my images can help document this species somehow. Today, I retrieved a bunch of different-looking springtails from my pool, but I wanted to take live shots and all of them escaped before I could shoot a single picture...

… Salvador Vitanza, 31 January, 2016 - 11:21am