Wow! Maureen and Jim recently discovered millions of springtails, also called “snow fleas,” on a recent stewardship walk at the CLC Charlotte C. Browne Memorial Woods. Looking like a layer of black scum on the water, closer examination might reveal that the “scum” is moving—and jumping!

In appearance they may look like insects, but in fact springtails belong to a diverse group of wingless arthropods called Collembola, and there are thousands of species around the world. Though they look as if they are jumping like fleas (with back legs), they actually use a folded appendage (called a furcula) tucked under the end of their abdomen that propels them into the air (hence the name “spring tail”).

You may see them in winter on the snow surface or in the little melted snow wells around the base of trees, or perhaps in your old footprints on a warmer sunny day. They often seem more obvious in the winter as little black specks on the white snow surface, as if someone came along and sprinkled pepper in your boot prints.

Sometimes you will find them by the millions on water surfaces as Maureen and Jim did, or if you look closely, you might see them scattered over the leaf litter on the forest floor. A fine moving dusting of black! As the leaf litter dries they will hide away in the moist leaf litter and soil, or in decaying logs and stumps. Most are “decomposers,” feeding on decaying organic matter—plants, bacteria, fungus, spores, algae, and even feces. Some species are herbivores and others are carnivorous!

Watch for them this spring as you walk the trails, and especially around puddles of water. If you see something, tiny, black or rust-colored, and moving on the surface of the water or leaves, they could be springtails. A hand lens or magnifying glass will take you into their world!

Banner: A thick mass of springtails on the surface of water. Photo: Jim Diamond