Seashore springtail
The seashore springtail is a tiny dark blue bug that lives at the seaside. It is covered in white hairs that keep it dry, so it can walk on top of the water in rock pools. Hundreds of them often gather together in one big crowd.
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Fun facts
Most springtails can jump, but this one cannot. Its jumping tail is so small that it does not work any more.
It moves with the tides, which come and go about every 12 and a half hours. It has a little clock inside its body that keeps the rhythm.
It uses its eyes to find its way when it moves around the shore.
It makes a special smell that tells the others to come and join the group.
Where it is cold, it spends the winter as an egg and comes out only in summer.
Most asked questions about Seashore springtail
?How big is a seashore springtail?
Very small. It grows up to about 3 millimetres, smaller than a grain of rice.
?Can a seashore springtail swim?
It does not swim, but its water-proof hairs let it stand and walk on top of the water.
?What does a seashore springtail eat?
Dead sea animals, like little crabs, barnacles and snails.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Anurida maritima
- Group
- Other insects
- Family
- Neanuridae
- Classification
- Collembola > Poduromorpha > Neanuridae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Rock springtail
Where the facts come from
- Anurida maritima (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Stephan Sprinz. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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