Springtails Do Their Own Stunts | Deep Look

Step right up to see tiny springtails spin through the air with the greatest of ease! In ponds and streams, they skyrocket out of the reach of hungry insects like water striders by slapping a tail-like appendage against the water. And you won’t believe how they stick the landing.

DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

Semiaquatic springtails are as tiny as a poppy seed, which makes them a tasty snack to insects such as water striders in streams and ponds.

But springtails have a secret superpower that allows them to evade their predators: the furcula. They use this tail-like appendage to jump off the water’s surface 150 times faster than the blink of an eye. Their explosive jumps can propel them as high as the equivalent of a six-story building for humans. So, once they’re up in the air, how do they land, ready to escape again?

Scientists at Georgia Tech filmed semiaquatic springtails they put in a wind tunnel. The high-speed footage showed that springtails right themselves in the air by curving their bodies into the shape of a U. They land upright with the help of a droplet of water they collect with a tube on their abdomen called a collophore.

“They don’t bounce away,” said Víctor Ortega-Jiménez, of the University of Maine, who carried out the research while at Georgia Tech. “The drop of water acts like a glue.”

--- Are springtails insects?

Even though, like insects, they have six legs, springtails aren’t considered insects because they keep their mouthparts tucked away, rather than exposed. Their furcula is another unique feature that sets them apart.

--- How small are springtails?

A springtail is 1 to 5 millimeters long, or one-sixteenth to one-fifth of an inch.

--- How many springtail species exist?

Scientists have identified more than 9,000 species of springtails, also known as collembolans.

---+ Find a transcript on KQED Science:

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

What Makes This Frog’s Tongue So Fast AND Sticky?

Earthworm Love is Cuddly … and Complicated

This Mushroom Can Fly

---+ Shoutout!

🏆Congratulations🏆 to these fans on our Deep Look Community Tab for correctly answering our GIF challenge!

Renkuka Karki
Princess Pie Girl Rotation
[Formula Zero EX_]

---+ Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10+ per month)!

Burt Humburg
Karen Reynolds
Companion Cube
Daisuke Goto
David Deshpande
Chris B Emrick
Tianxing Wang
Wade Tregaskis
Laurel Przybylski
Mark Jobes
Laurel Przybylski
Kevin Judge
Porkchop
Cindy McGill
Roberta K Wright
Titania Juang
El Samuels
Rory B.
Carrie Mukaida
KW
Jellyman
Jessica Hiraoka
Mehdi
Noreen Herrington
SueEllen McCann
Louis O'Neill
Nicolette Ray
monoirre
Jeremiah Sullivan
Levi Cai
TierZoo
Elizabeth Ann Ditz
Syniurge

---+ Follow Deep Look and KQED Science on social:


---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS member station in San Francisco, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios and the members of KQED.
#springtail #deeplook

[peytonvogler]

My favorite hexapods!! They’re incredibly underrated in the field entomology, to the extent that none of my professors know an entomologist who studies them. They’re known to be the most abundant animal on the planet, yet still so under appreciated. I love them!

[panicclinic]

They're absolutely precious and adorable little buggers. The way they launch themselves into the air is entertaining.

[jacobv]

Now those little buggers are fun to watch. Pretty amazing how quick they are.

[zachb]

That was a great episode. Peak Deep Look. The camera work is incredible and I've never been more fascinated with how complicated all the tiny things can be. My favorite thing about nature is how you can crouch in any bush, turn over any rock, stare into any tide pool and if you look close enough you'll eventually find something amazing.

[Alex-kfrm]

When I was a kid I thought they had the power to teleport short distance.

[Silver-Arrow]

i wish to be the person that approves funding for projects like "we want to put a bunch of springtails in an wind tunnel"

[TragoudistrosMPH]

I didn't know water striders jumped!
However the dropping physics were increasingly fascinating, both the acrobatic drop and the water 💧

[Weiner-Worm]

While moving, underneath one of my large plant saucers, I found a colony of springtails. So I used a small hand vacuum to collect them, then emptied the contents into a container I had prepared with activated chemical free charcoal. I now have a little home grown colony of springtails that I sprinkle into my house plants. They are great at eating mold/fungus.

I loved seeing them up close in this video! I find them very endearing.

[hejgustavful]

How have I never heard of these wonderful little critters?

[--Paws--]

Springtails have been doing the Water Bucket landing before Minecraft existed.

[renatocann]

springtails in a wind tunnel make for a far more delightful visual than I could have ever imagined ✨

[reionj]

Ahah they looked so funny spinning in the air. I didn't even know they existed. It's how a tiny drop of water can make a huge difference. Great video DeepLook😌❤💯

[chickendrawsdogs]

Ah I remember seeing these guys while out looking for frogs and tadpoles as a kid. I'm always amazed how much life can there be in just a small puddle.

[ProfessionalBugLover]

these little things are so cute and important

[BlackZero]

That TING sound when they are jumping is awesome 😂

[bednap]

I was literally just researching springtails for my terrarium when this video released

[deadlydingus]

Imagine being that springtail in the wind tunnel. It must be thinking something along the lines of “wait, why haven’t I landed yet?”

[technoviking]

The amount of adaptation that was needed to this is mindblowing

[PixelPotato]

Best. Thumbnail. Ever. Also these little creatures are so cute and amazing!! Those adorable antennas

[soogymoogi]

I've been culturing several species and colors of these little guys, hoping to sell them at local reptile expos, and to use in my own arachnid enclosures. So cute and fascinating. Am hoping to catch some local ones. Maybe discover a new species? There's not enough research on them.

This video is so cute! I love the circus theme haha.