What Are Springtails?
Springtails (class Collembola) are tiny six-legged arthropods, typically 1-3 mm long, that live in soil, leaf litter and any damp organic matter. They're among the most abundant animals on earth - healthy soil holds tens of thousands per square metre - and they're decomposers, feeding on decaying plant material, fungi, mould, bacteria and algae. They are not insects, and they do not bite or sting people or pets. If you've found them in a damp corner of your house they are a nuisance at most, and they're telling you about a moisture problem rather than causing one. And in the invertebrate hobby they're bought deliberately, in their millions, as the cleanup crew that grazes the soft mould and fine debris in a bioactive enclosure.
Not Insects - and That Matters
Springtails have six legs, but they aren't insects. They belong to their own class, Collembola, within the wider hexapod group. It's a real biological distinction rather than pedantry - their anatomy and physiology work differently from the crickets and roaches you might feed a reptile.
Two structures make them what they are:
- The furcula. A forked, tail-like appendage folded beneath the abdomen and held under tension. Release it and the animal is catapulted several times its own body length through the air. That's the "spring" in springtail, and it's their entire escape strategy. Some species - the Neanuridae, which includes the orange and Thai Red springtails popular in the hobby - have a reduced or absent furcula and barely jump at all.
- The collophore. A tube on the underside of the first abdominal segment. It was long assumed to be for sticking to surfaces, hence the name Collembola, from the Greek for "glue peg" - but its real job is water regulation. It's how a soft-bodied animal with no waxy cuticle manages to survive on land, and it's why springtails need humidity so badly.
What They Do
Springtails are decomposers. They feed on decaying organic matter and so play a part in the nutrient cycle that turns dead leaves back into soil. They graze fungi and mould, which is what makes them so useful in captivity. They can also carry fungal spores from place to place, including those of the fungi that partner plant roots. And many live in the small air spaces between crumbs of soil, so compacted ground can hold fewer of them.
Their sheer abundance is hard to overstate. A single square metre of healthy soil surface can hold anywhere from 20,000 to over 100,000 individuals. They're among the most abundant soil animals, and ecologists use them as indicators of soil health.
Are Springtails a Pest?
Around the home, a nuisance at most. This is worth stating plainly, because it's the thing most people want to know.
Springtails do not bite or sting people or pets, and we have found no evidence that they pass any disease or parasite on to people or pets. They don't damage buildings or furniture. Plant damage is uncommon, though some soil springtails feed on living roots and large numbers in a waterlogged pot or seed tray can graze soft seedlings. If you're finding them in a bathroom, a basement or around a houseplant, they are not the problem - they're a symptom. They need constant moisture to survive, so their presence means something nearby is persistently damp. Fix the damp and the springtails leave on their own, because they can't survive without it.
The hobby view is rather different. Bioactive keepers pay money for these animals, deliberately, and consider a thriving population a sign that a setup is working. Which it is.
Why Keepers Buy Them
In a bioactive vivarium, terrarium or isopod tub, springtails do three jobs:
- Mould grazing. They eat soft mould and fungal spores, but they are a help rather than a cure: we have found no test of whether they clear an established bloom, so ventilation and sensible feeding do the heavy lifting.
- Waste processing. They help break down uneaten food, shed skins and fine organic debris at a finer scale than larger cleanup animals.
- Live food. They're a staple feeder for dart frogs, mourning geckos and small juvenile reptiles - and a colony living in the enclosure produces food continuously without any effort from the keeper.
They pair naturally with isopods, which handle leaf litter and larger debris while springtails work the microscopic end. Our guide to building a bioactive cleanup crew covers the pairing, and if you're wondering whether the isopods will eat the springtails, we have found no record of an isopod catching a healthy one.
The Species You'll Actually Meet
Thousands of species exist, but a handful dominate the hobby:
- Temperate white springtails (Folsomia candida) - the workhorse. Hardy, prolific, tolerant of UK room temperature, and the default choice for most setups.
- Orange springtails (Yuukianura aphoruroides) - vivid, easy to see, and effectively non-jumping, which makes them far less irritating to work with.
- Thai Red springtails (Lobella sp.) - large, candy-red, also non-jumping. The display species.
Browse the full range in our springtails collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are springtails?
Tiny six-legged arthropods (class Collembola), usually 1-3 mm long, that live in soil, leaf litter and damp organic matter. They're decomposers, feeding on decaying material, fungi, mould and bacteria. Despite having six legs they are not insects - they belong to their own class.
Are springtails insects?
No. They're hexapods, but they sit outside Insecta in their own class, Collembola. The distinction is real: they have a furcula (a spring-loaded jumping organ), a collophore (a water-regulating tube), and six or fewer abdominal segments, where insects typically have eleven.
Are springtails harmful?
Springtails do not bite or sting people or pets, and we have found no verified report of the springtails themselves harming people or pets. A few cases of skin irritation after handling springtails have been reported, but they are very uncommon. Around the home they are a nuisance at most. See our guide on whether springtails bite for the detail.
Why do I have springtails in my house?
Because something is damp. Springtails need constant moisture to survive, so they gather where there's persistent humidity - a leaking pipe, a damp basement, an overwatered houseplant. They aren't the problem; they're a signal. Deal with the moisture and they'll disappear on their own, because they can't live without it.
Do springtails jump?
Most do, using the furcula - a forked appendage held under tension beneath the body that launches them several body lengths when released. Some hobby species don't: the orange and Thai Red springtails have a reduced furcula and barely jump at all, which is exactly why keepers like them.
What do springtails eat?
Decaying plant matter, fungi, mould, algae and bacteria. In a bioactive enclosure they graze soft mould and biofilm at a finer scale than other cleanup species, which is what makes them so valuable.
Why would anyone buy springtails?
As a cleanup crew. In any humid enclosure - reptile, amphibian, planted terrarium or isopod tub - they graze soft mould, process waste, and double as live food for dart frogs and small geckos. They're one of the cheapest additions you can make to a bioactive setup.
They're also a useful addition to a tarantula enclosure - see our guide to springtails for tarantulas. And they pair naturally with isopods for a complete cleanup crew.
Leave a comment