Springtail
Springtail
Invertebrate
The springtail is a tiny soil creature with a built-in catapult — a spring-loaded tail that flings it to safety the instant danger appears.
💡 Fun Facts
- A microscopic bug found in soil and leaf litter.
- They have a special tail-like appendage that flings them into the air to escape danger.
Name Story
Bourletiella hortensis (order Collembola)
means “glue-peg on the outside, spring-tail underneath”
What does its name mean?
- Collembola — glue-pegGreek kolla 'glue' + embolon 'peg', for a little tube on its belly
- springtail — for the forked 'spring' folded under its bodyEnglish
Here is a tiny animal with two names for two different body parts. 'Collembola' points to a little peg-like tube on its belly, once thought to be sticky. 'Springtail' points to something else entirely — a forked tail held under the body like a catapult, which snaps down to fling the creature high into the air.