Springtails, I think - Dicyrtomina ornata

Moved

Moved from Dicyrtomina.

… john and jane balaban, 24 December, 2007 - 10:40am

Moved

Moved from Dicyrtomidae.

… Beatriz Moisset, 12 November, 2006 - 11:04am

Moved

Moved from Dicyrtoma.

… Beatriz Moisset, 12 November, 2006 - 11:03am

Dicyrtomina, not Dicyrtoma

Hi Beatriz, note the difference in spelling. Sorry for the confusion caused by my previous posting... These are two different genera. Dicyrtomina is smaller than Dicyrtoma, as the -ina suffix suggests. And they have distinctly different claws.

… Frans Janssens, 12 November, 2006 - 10:56am

Oops!

Thanks for correcting that. I'll fix it right away.

… Beatriz Moisset, 12 November, 2006 - 11:03am

Moved

Moved from Globular Springtails.

… Beatriz Moisset, 12 November, 2006 - 10:38am

Dicyrtomina ornata. New for the guide. Well done!

Hi Beatriz. This is an educated guess. The image is too small to see all typical characteristics. But it is certainly family Dicyrtomidae. In some specimens you can recognise the very short 4th antennal segment, typical for this family. In the pigment pattern you can see in some specimens the typical yellow dagger like pattern in the anterior part of the dorsum. This is typical for Dicyrtoma ornata and saundersi. D. saundersi has a dark patch at its butt in the shape of a Maltheser cross. D. ornata has a solid dark path. It is the latter that I recognise in your specimens. These Dicyrtoma species are becoming more and more active now it gets colder. So, I assume we will be seeing more of those soon ;-)

… Frans Janssens, 12 November, 2006 - 10:26am

Thanks

I guess that I will have to visit those pitcher plants again and try harder to get a good picture. I need a better camera and limber joints for that.

… Beatriz Moisset, 12 November, 2006 - 10:35am

Indeed they are

a glob of globular springtails. Nice find!

… Jim McClarin, 11 November, 2006 - 3:25pm