Despite being only slightly larger than a pinhead, springtails are skilled acrobats when it comes to controlling their jumps.
An almost elegant aspect of minute physical control is shown by Dr. Ortega Jiménez and colleagues in an article that was published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The illustrations help explain in great detail how springtails leap through the air and land almost always on their feet.
Small, flea-like insects called springtails have 9,000 documented species worldwide. They can be found on all seven continents and many of them live in dark, humid environments; some even move through snow.
Springtails are classified as Collembola by John Lubbock, who gave them that name. The words "glue" and "peg" are borrowed from Greek. The name was given by Lubbock after he saw the behaviour of springtails after flipping them onto their backs and holding a piece of glass above their stomachs. The animals would produce a fluid from the tips of their collophores and push it toward the surface as they reached for the shard with their legs. This fluid, according to Lubbock, "certainly gives a greater grasp."
Later, this was contested by other scientists,
The collophore, the only component of the springtail's body that attracts water, was thought to serve as a means of ingesting nutrients in the 20th century.
According to Dr. Ortega Jiménez, the collophore, a tube protruding from the springtails' abdomens, is their most recognisable and puzzling feature. Drag, surface tension, and gravity are some of the subtle factors that this tube reacts with as it moves the creatures. "They are utilising the air and the water,"
Springtails were first observed flying by Dr. Ortega Jiménez, who then built a small wind tunnel to observe how the insects responded to various flying circumstances. He discovered that every aspect of a springtail's jump involves its collophore.
The collophores caught a drop of water before takeoff when the springtails whacked their tail-like furculae against the water. The creatures started to spin in the air, but as they did, they bent their bodies into a U shape, which slowed them down and eventually let them fly straight through the air, like little superheroes.
The springtails can better evade predators thanks to their rapid recovery after jumps, which makes the evolution of these jumping animals a mystery. Survival depends on being prepared, according to Dr. Ortega Jiménez.
The researchers were shocked to discover so extensive control in such small animals. However, dynamics at small scales sometimes defy logic, and even fundamental characteristics can be readily missed. A little water on the abdomen can make all the difference.
0.348 SRY