Sminthurus viridis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Collembola |
Order: | Symphypleona |
Family: | Sminthuridae |
Genus: | Sminthurus |
Species: | S. viridis |
Binomial name | |
Sminthurus viridis | |
Sminthurus viridis is a member of the Collembola, the springtails, an order in the subphylum Hexapoda. The species is known by common names such as clover springtail, [1] lucerne flea, [2] or lucerne earth flea. [3]
Common names such as lucerne flea are misleading because, being a member of the Collembola, this species is not even remotely related to the fleas. Calling it a "flea" simply is a reference to its jumping ability and its small size. [4]
The species originated in Eurasia, but in particular in Europe. However, it has been spread unintentionally by human agency. It now is present in southern regions of Australia and Tasmania, where it is considered a pest. [5] [6] It also is present in South Africa, New Zealand, and the Americas. Its pest status varies from negligible to severe, depending on local circumstances. [3]
Like other members of the family Sminthuridae, S. viridis has a roughly globular body. The species varies in colour, but commonly is patchy bright green or yellowish. [3] As Collembola go, it is a fairly large species, commonly up to about 3 mm in length. The species has a well-developed furcula and it leaps actively if alarmed. [7] The mouthparts of S. viridis are mandibulate, meaning that they have biting mouthparts, though only the tips of the mandibles project out of the mouth folds.
The mature female lays variable batches of eggs, usually in damp soil or litter. Oviposition is slow; she takes a few minutes to lay each egg. The eggs are very difficult to find in the field because they are covered by sticky excreta containing soil that the female had swallowed. The eggs are spherical, pale yellow, and only about a 1/4 mm in diameter. Their resistance to both drought and cold has enabled the species to survive introduction from cool, moist conditions of Northern Europe, to Australasia and Southern Africa. In conditions of drought, they simply enter a state of aestivation in the form of diapause in which embryonic development is delayed. The delay lasts till a period of soaking rain sets in or until irrigation begins. During a period of active breeding when plenty of moisture exists, the hatching period is variable; under favourable conditions, most eggs hatch in about 2 weeks, but some take 3 weeks or more, while eggs that have aestivated hatch at various intervals over period around a week to a month or more after wet conditions return. When rain is delayed in spring, a bank of partly developed eggs in the soil may accumulate, leading to something of an explosion of emergence after good rain.
Their lifecycles vary with climatic conditions and also with gender; males and female develop according to different schedules. Males are somewhat smaller than females and they undergo ecdysis only four times, after which they are ready for reproductive activity. They produce spermatophores mounted on fine stems well above the substrate surface. A female that encounters such a spermatophore might take it up into her cloaca or simply eat it if she is not receptive. Rival males might eat each other's spermatophores or even their own after they have failed to attract any female and are no longer viable.
The female sheds her skin nine times, but achieves sexual maturity in the sixth instar, that is, after the fifth ecdysis. The earlier instars last for only a matter of days, but the sexually functional instars for a fortnight or so. The fully mature female might live for two months or more. Generations in the field overlap, but roughly four to eight generations a year might occur, depending on the region and conditions.
S. viridis often swarms in large numbers on living plants, especially Fabaceae. It commonly occurs on lucerne (an alternative name for alfalfa, hence the first part of the common name). It feeds mainly on the surface cells of leaves, and when it occurs in especially high densities, it causes enough damage to be regarded as an agricultural pest. In this respect, it is unusual among Collembola, because very few members of the suborder do significant harm and some actually are mildly beneficial, either as predators[ citation needed ] or in recycling detritus.
The biological control of S. viridis is fairly complex and reasonably effective where it is adequate, because no one agent accounts for the entire control. For instance, fungal infections have been documented as killing the springtails, though they are not seen as major control agents. [8]
Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticle in many invertebrates of the clade Ecdysozoa. Since the cuticle of these animals typically forms a largely inelastic exoskeleton, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The remnants of the old, empty exoskeleton are called exuviae.
The order Diplura is one of three orders of non-insect hexapods within the class Entognatha. The name "diplura", or "two tails", refers to the characteristic pair of caudal appendages or filaments at the terminal end of the body.
Histeridae is a family of beetles commonly known as clown beetles or hister beetles. This very diverse group of beetles contains 3,900 species found worldwide. They can be easily identified by their shortened elytra that leaves two of the seven tergites exposed, and their geniculate (elbowed) antennae with clubbed ends. These predatory feeders are most active at night and will fake death if they feel threatened. This family of beetles will occupy almost any kind of niche throughout the world. Hister beetles have proved useful during forensic investigations to help in time of death estimation. Also, certain species are used in the control of livestock pests that infest dung and to control houseflies. Because they are predacious and will even eat other hister beetles, they must be isolated when collected.
The name Apterygota is sometimes applied to a former subclass of small, agile insects, distinguished from other insects by their lack of wings in the present and in their evolutionary history; notable examples are the silverfish, the firebrat, and the jumping bristletails. Their first known occurrence in the fossil record is during the Devonian period, 417–354 million years ago. The group Apterygota is not a clade; it is paraphyletic, and not recognized in modern classification schemes. As defined, the group contains two separate clades of wingless insects: Archaeognatha comprises jumping bristletails, while Zygentoma comprises silverfish and firebrats. The Zygentoma are in the clade Dicondylia with winged insects, a clade that includes all other insects, while Archaeognatha is sister to this lineage.
Tungiasis is an inflammatory skin disease caused by infection with the female ectoparasitic Tunga penetrans, a flea also known as the chigoe, chigo, chigoe flea, chigo flea, jigger, nigua, sand flea, or burrowing flea. The flea and the disease that it causes are found in the tropical parts of Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and India. Tunga penetrans is the smallest known flea, measuring 1 mm across. It is also known in Latin America as the nigua and bicho de pie (Spanish) or bicho de pé (Portuguese), literally "foot bug". Tunga penetrans is a member of the genus Tunga, which comprises 13 species.
The furcula, or furca is a forked, tail-like appendage. It is present in most species of springtails, and in them it is attached ventrally to the fourth abdominal segment. The organ most often is present in species of Collembola that lives in the upper soil layers where it is used for jumping to avoid predators. While at rest, it is retracted under the abdomen and held there by a structure variously called the retinaculum or hamula, which in turn is located beneath the third abdominal segment. When the furcula escapes from retinaculum, it swings downwards and hits the substrate, propelling the springtail into the air. The animal does not use this mechanism for ordinary locomotion, but only for escaping from predators or severe stress.
Stratiolaelaps scimitus is a small (0.5 mm) light brown mite that lives in the top 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) layer of soil. As a natural predator of fungus gnat pupae and of the snail parasite Riccardoella limacum it is used by gardeners and snail breeders for biological pest control. Stratiolaelaps scimitus is also commonly used by reptile, amphibian and invertebrate keepers as a preventative or reactive measure against grain mites and reptile mites. Whereas most mite treatments are based on synthetic chemicals, predatory mites are used as a biological method of preventing and curing mite infestations.
Deinacrida fallai or the Poor Knights giant wētā is a species of insect in the family Anostostomatidae. It is endemic to the Poor Knights Islands off northern New Zealand. D. fallai are commonly called giant wētā due to their large size. They are one of the largest insects in the world, with a body length measuring up to 73 mm. Their size is an example of island gigantism. They are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN due to their restricted distribution.
Eriophyoidea are a superfamily of herbivorous mites. All post-embryonic instars lack the third and fourth pairs of legs, and the respiratory system is also absent.
Springtails form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects. Although the three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, they do not appear to be any more closely related to one another than they are to all insects, which have external mouthparts.
Sminthuridae, not to be confounded with: Sminthurididae, is a family of springtails of the order Symphypleona. Sminthurids are commonly referred to as globular springtails.
Melanoplus bivittatus, the two-striped grasshopper, is a poikilothermic species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus. It is commonly found in North America, with high quantities inhabiting Canadian prairies and farmland.
Allacma fusca is a species of springtail. This species is endemic to western areas of Continental Europe and the British Isles, where it lives in the surface layers of the soil in moist habitats such as among leaf litter.
Chelisoches morio, the black earwig, is a species of insect in the family Chelisochidae. It is an omnivore that can be found worldwide, however it is most prominent in tropical areas, Pacific islands, the Pacific Northwest, and damp environments. The adults are jet black and can range in size from 18 to 25mm in size, though some have grown to be 36mm. The males cerci are widely separated and serrated compared to the female. The forceps are used for prey capture, defense, fighting and courtship.
Dociostaurus maroccanus, commonly known as the Moroccan locust, is a grasshopper in the insect family Acrididae. It is found in northern Africa, southern and eastern Europe and western Asia. It lives a solitary existence but in some years its numbers increase sharply, and it becomes gregarious and congregates to form swarms which can cause devastation in agricultural areas. The species was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1815.
Cerococcidae is a family of scale insects commonly known as ornate pit scales or cerococcids. There are 83 species in 5 genera. Members of this family occur in all regions of the world.
Costelytra giveni, commonly known as New Zealand grass grub, is a scarab beetle that is endemic to New Zealand and is a prevalent pasture pest.
Dysdercus koenigii is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer. It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton staining fungi as they do so.
Scutigerella immaculata, commonly known as the garden symphylan or glasshouse symphylid, is a species of myriapod in the family Scutigerellidae. It may have originated in Europe but now has a cosmopolitan distribution and can be a pest of crops.
Harmonia octomaculata is a species of ladybird of the family Coccinellidae. It is found throughout India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Micronesia, and Australia.
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