‘Giant’ Springtails (Holacanthella spp.)

The giant springtails of New Zealand can reach up to 17 mm in length, making them the largest springtails in the world. The genus (Holacanthella) is found only in New Zealand, where they live on deadwood in native forests, emerging only at night to graze on fungi and organic matter. Although they live in perpetual darkness, Holacanthella are among the most beautifully ornate creatures in the entire soil world. They have stout, flattened blue bodies with an incredible variety of brightly coloured soft spines – bright red, orange, yellow, white and purple – covering the top (or dorsal) surface of their bodies. I like to think of them as resembling a cross between a hedgehog and a gummy bear.