Sprintails
Let’s travel back to the time of the dinosaurs—springtails were already around, and they even existed before them!
Springtails are older than insects and date back around 400 million years.
Their simple body structure and adaptability explain their survival over such long periods. Today, they’re found on every continent—even Antarctica!
Springtails are tiny creatures (0.1 to 5 mm) without wings, often colored white, gray, brown, or blue. Their soft bodies have three parts: head, thorax, and abdomen, with six legs and short antennae. They are completely harmless—they don’t bite, sting, or pose any danger to humans, children, or animals.
Their superpower?
They enrich the soil and support biodiversity!
They feed on dead leaves, fungi, and microbes, turning these materials into nutrients for the soil—helping plants grow.
Soil springtails even produce a hydrophobic substance through their skin that
repels water and allows them to float on the surface!
These micro-heroes have a furca—a tiny forked tail—that lets them jump and escape quickly.
Their presence is a sign of healthy soil, as they are sensitive to pollutants like pesticides, making them excellent bioindicators of environmental quality.
In Canada, unlike springtails, 19 out of the 29 identified earthworm species are imported and harmful—especially in boreal forests.
Springtails, on the other hand, help stabilize ecosystems by regulating microbial and fungal populations and supporting natural nutrient cycles.
Springtails
They break down organic matter and make nutrients available.
Their presence is an indicator of healthy soil and a sign of high biodiversity.
Completely safe for
the whole family,
animals, and nature.
Over 68 species in Quebec
Springtails play an active role in creating humus, the top layer of healthy soil.
They live in the top few centimeters/inches of soil, under rocks and pieces of wood.
The furca of springtails is an abdominal organ that allows them to jump quickly to escape predators.