‘Hunched’ Springtails (Neelipleona)

Okay, so I just made up the ‘hunched’ common name - as far as I can tell this Order doesn’t have a casual moniker like the rest do. But they’re no less distinctive than the others, and in fact I think they’re my favourite of all the springtails. The Neelipleona look a bit like the Symphypleona, except generally much smaller, unpigmented, blind and with a very ‘hunched’ appearance. In fact, the entomologist Stephen Hopkin (who literally wrote the book on UK springtails) once referred to the species Megalothorax minimus as “…walking along with a gait that reminds me of a tiny old man hunched in a baggy coat”. This order contains the smallest of the springtail species, and they’re generally soil or cave inhabitants (troglodytes), although decaying logs may yield a few too. Thanks to their diminutive stature, you’ll need to have a good loupe on you to spot these in the field - but it’s well worth taking the time to look!