Unidentified insect on an agar plate
Location: Albany, NY
November 29, 2010 2:47 pm
Howdy! So I have a giant insect book at home that I can’t access right now because I am at work, but we have an unusual little guy that I found a picture of online and cannot actually identify because it was found under ”aspen mite”, and it is not an actual mite. We work in a nematode laboratory and this guy is about the length of an adult nematode (C. elegans). He is the first and only one of his kind. Contamination possibilities are: us, the air from the ventilation system and some fungus gnats that were in my potting soil. Just wondering what he is and what he does and if he thinks that C.elegans eggs are like delicious caviar or that C. elegans themselves are like delicious little noodles. Thanks and I love the site!
Signature: Cara D
Springtail
Dear Cara,
This is a Springtail in the class Collembola, and by many accounts, they are the most common hexapods on the planet. According to BugGuide which sites DiscoverLife: “Springtails are probably the most abundant hexapods on Earth, with up to 250 million individuals per acre.“ It probably came from the potting soil.
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[...] 2010 at 4:23 amCategories WormsNematodes Location: Albany, NY November 30, 2010 Thank you for the springtail identification. Um, oops! I don’t think my boss will make me get rid of my plants though thankfully. We work [...]