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why are springtails not considered insects

  • Thread starter Indigo
  • Start date

Indigo

Learning How To Multiply
What the title said. as I was having a conversation with a friend. and she suddenly asked me this question. tired to google it but no source came up. does anyone know? and source link????


Thanks in Advance
Indigo
 
yes, they're in class Insecta. perhaps your friend was thinking of something else?
 
But springtail is considered as non-insect hexapods
 
They are hexapods - six legs but class Collembola, not Insecta.
 
Just following up on the link, which led to another link, the author wrote:

IDENTIFICATION
Springtails are among the smallest insects in the home landscape. Typical species are about .04 inch or 1 mm long, barely visible to the eye. Under a handlens or microscope the most distinctive physical characteristic of springtails is their long tail, which is normally kept folded under the body. This tail, when sprung from its folded position, causes these insects to jump, much like a flea.
Springtails come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, but to the human eye usually appear as small, grey specks. Springtails can be distinguished from fleas by their appearance and much smaller size. Unlike fleas, springtails do not bite and will not infest or annoy people.
 
  • #10
I have no idea what they are, but my pings sure as heck like them.
 
  • #11
had to look this up. when I had my aquatic insect class some time ago, they were class insecta: order collembola. apparently there is some disagreement now, some consider them in their own class of collembola, others say they're a subclass of another class (entognatha), while others (probably old-school types) still put them with the insects. gives me a headache.
 
  • #12
I have a love-hate relationship with Taxonomy & Speciation!
 
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