springtails | An Bollenessor

The Emerald Green Paddle Worm (or Green Leaf Worm) Eulalia clavigera ranges from a few to 10 centimetres and is common in rockpools in Britain (although most are probably more familiar with their egg masses, see here). During a recent scramble over the Trefusis Headland I noticed some out of the water on Codium adhaerens seaweed. Using my cygnustech diffuser and a bit of extra magnification courtesy of a Raynox clip-on macrolens I got to work! Taking photos of these worms is difficult as they are continuously on the move. It is also hard to get close to them with the diffuser bumping into the rocks and obscuring the light. However, they are very rewarding subjects; worms are usually overlooked but they are very beautiful! The Codium seaweed proved a perfect background, absorbing all light, a bit like black velvet. When you spend enough time on your knees peering down, you also always notice other things, some tiny springtails Anura maritima as well as some even tinier red mites (see also this old post). One of my new year’s resolutions is to photograph more worms – and the good thing is that there are many other species available, including paddle worm species, one of which is in the process of being described new to science by my friend David Fenwick).

We met up with friends in Anglesey (Cymru/Wales) last week. The weather was beautiful, but the viz was milky and the rock pools quite bare. However, there were some interesting animals to see in the pools on the upper shore: rafts of springtails (Anurida maritima). These are tiny but fascinating animals that hide in crevices or under seaweed at high tide but that live in groups on the water surface when it is still. This is helped by bristles that make them highly hydrophobic, a circatidal rhythm and pheromones that allow them to aggregate. Springtails are extremely abundant and important in terrestrial ecosystems but have made a home in the sea as well (and fun fact: although they have six legs, they are not insects). Anurida scavenge on dead animals but themselves fall prey to mites. This tiny raft (the larger springtails are only 3mm) houses two species: ~~a Red Snout Mite (Neomolgus littoralis)~~ a Bdella species (thanks for ID Matthew Shepherd!) and several smaller Halotydeus hydrodomus. The raft in the photo is about the size of a stamp but there is quite a lot going on!