A reference for springtails
Springtails, with the evidence.
Identify them, keep them and see how sure we are. Every statement links to its sources, and nothing is shown as fact without them.
What brings you here?
- Add springtails to a tank Pick a species that suits your enclosure and seed it well.
- Start a culture A first culture in a tub, with the food and substrate that work.
- Work out what I have Answer a few questions about what you can see and the kit you have.
- Fix a problem Mould, mites, escapes or a culture that stopped growing.
- Explore the science Classification, anatomy and the questions still open.
Species
Detailed pages for the species keepers meet most. Short, honest pages for the rest.
- Folsomia candida Common White Springtail A pale, eyeless springtail with a long jumping organ. It is the standard laboratory species for soil toxicity tests and the most common starter culture for bioactive tanks.
- Arrhopalites caecus A white globular springtail from the cave springtail group, identified to species by microscopy after it entered the hobby as an unnamed family member.
- Ceratophysella isabellae Lilac Springtail A lilac springtail sold since the hobby gave up the name Purple Springtail, in colour morphs called F1, Yellow Albino and White Albino.
- Coecobrya tenebricosa Tropical Pink Springtail The Tropical Pink and Tropical White springtail of the hobby, a pale, fast-breeding species long sold under the wrong name Sinella curviseta.
- Desoria trispinata Blue Velvet Springtail A blue-grey springtail sold as the Blue Velvet Springtail. Two US hobby cultures exist and nobody can tell them apart.
- Entomobrya assuta Varicolored Springtail A North American springtail with a highly variable colour pattern. The Varicolored Springtail of the hobby is a patternless culture that a collembologist linked to it.
How this site works
Evidence you can check
Every statement shows where it comes from and how strong the evidence is. Published studies, expert sources, hobby agreement and single reports are kept apart.
Written for your level
Switch between beginner, keeper and specialist. The facts stay the same. The detail changes.
Drawings, not photographs
Drawings are generated from measured proportions, so a mistake can be found and fixed. Real photographs are one click away on iNaturalist.
How the site decides what to say
- 47 species
- 1,071 sourced statements
- 80 sources
- 53 hobby cultures
Problems keepers ask about
What nobody knows yet
Open questions are part of the content. Each one says why it matters and what would settle it.
- Is a culture sold as Tropical White a Coecobrya or a Folsomia? The name Tropical White is used for the pale form of Coecobrya tenebricosa and has also been used for Folsomia candida. The two want different care.
- What are the real temperature limits of each hobby species? Sellers give a single comfortable range for many species with no source behind it. Keepers cannot tell where a culture starts to suffer.
- Which species is this culture, checked by a specialist? Hobby cultures are mostly named from a seller's label or a photograph. A wrong name spreads from seller to keeper and then into care advice.