Springtails: Collembola

Springtails live in warm, damp places. They are especially common in leaf litter and soil. Some species are found in caves, the burrows of small mammals, or the nests of ants and termites. They also live in moss, under stones, on the surfaces of ponds and lakes, and along rocky seashores. Others are found high in the trees of tropical rainforests or on the surface of snowbanks. Springtails are sometimes so common in grasslands that there are more than 596,000 individuals per square yard (500,000 per square meter).