21.10.18 - Tugby Wood

I was able to visit this private site on a trip organized by the Leicestershire Fungus Study Group (during which we recorded a very respectable list of nearly 50 species). While I was there, I had a few minutes to look for springtails, so I focussed on the underside of fallen leaves.This yielded three species, several Dicyrtomina saundersi:



Lots of Lepidocyrtus cyaneus:



Plenty of Tomocerus minor:

07.10.18 - Narborough Bog

After the first (mild) frost of the season I had a local trip to Narborough Bog. Because of the frost I only sampled under the trees by the river, a sheltered spot. This is one of the wettest places in Leicestershire, frequently under water for a month or more in winter when the adjacent River Soar overflows, but on this occasion, in spite of a day of light rain previously, soil under logs and sheltered from direct rainfall was still dry and powdery. Springtails were limited because of the conditions, but there were lots of Orchesella cincta present, and quite a few Tomocerus minor. Looking at these, several seemed to have a banded appearance. I still find it impossible to differentiate between T. vulgaris and T. minor by eye, so I checked them all and they all had tridentate spines on the dens, confirming that they are indeed Tomocerus minor:

29.09.18 - Warren Hills

A quick trip to Warren Hills, my first visit since the reserve was closed due to a firs earlier in the summer. Thankfully, the regeneration is proceeding well, although it has undoubtedly been held back by the low rainfall. I only sampled from the heather which was pretty dry but turned up plentiful Entomobrya nicoleti and E. nivalis, together with a couple of Dicyrtomina saundersi. The photo shows the characteristic change at the joint of sections 2 and 3 of the antennae in this species.

Pseudosinella alba

Pseudosinella alba is widespread and very common in leaf litter, soil and organic matter throughout the UK. Each eye is comprised of two ocelli which are close together in a single spot of pigment on either side of the head - difficult to resolve unless the pigment has been cleared. The claw has prominent teeth and the body is covered in scales, also present on the dens. The mucro has two teeth. Of the six UK species of Pseudosinella, the other common non-coastal UK species Pseudosinella immaculata is blind. Pseudosinella alba can be distinguished from the similar species Heteromurus nitidis because in Heteromurus, abd4 is less than 2 times the length of abd3 whereas in P. alba abd4 is much longer than abd3.