They like the damp conditions under the bark, so i just place a piece on the stone patio steps and wait for a few to "jump" off, then i can shoot them as they walk along the edge of the step!
The first one i found was the common species Dicyrtomina saundersi ,a largish species up to about 3mm in length. Shot with canon 5d2 and mpe at x5 mag , and cropped a bit!
After shooting this one, before it jumped somewhere! LOL i suddenly noticed a much smaller one, i initially thought it was just a smaller D saundersi but when viewed through the mpe it appeared to have different coloured eyes! i have since found out it is a recently found species in the uk , originating from New Zealand! Calvatomina nr superba , quite a small species , about 1.5 mm this individual specimen.
Note the black eye spots in the centre of a coloured eye patch! again shot with mpe at x5 mag on full frame 5d2.
The next one i found was a quite large D Saundersi, but was tucked into a piece of wood bark, so this is the best angle i could get!
Later in the afternoon i went out to find some more, and found a new species that i haven't found in the garden before, D minuta. and this was a very small young one that apparently had just shed its skin!
Shot with 5d2 mpe @ x5 mag as shot! note the old skin shed!
it was so small i had to go and get my 450d crop sensor body to shoot with!
here is same springtail shot with 450d crop sensor @x5 mag as shot, showing difference between full frame and crop sensor in magnification!!!!!!!!
and a cropped shot from the above image, isn't it CUTE! Haha
I then managed to find a quite large D saundersi , about 2mm :), it was shot as it walked along the top edge of stone step, so i could get a low shooting angle. 5d2, mpe @x5 mag and cropped!
all shot with canon 5d2,450d and mpe-65 at x5 mag.
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