# Tropical or Temperate?



## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Is this a picture of a tropical or temperate springtail?


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## Marinarawr (Jan 14, 2009)

You just wanted an excuse to make a poll .

I voted tropical because the only temperate springtails I've ever seen were so tiny I couldn't even take a picture where they showed up in it. Also they look similar to ones I've seen on "for sale" pages but I suppose they would since they're both springtails....


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

they look tropical to me.


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## atlfrog (Dec 31, 2006)

Tropical. We sell both tropical and temperate here, and as fair as I can tell these are tropical.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

I guess I should mention the point of this thread... 
I get frustrated every time I read springtail thread. "Tropical" and "Temperate" springtails are very different animals, but when people give advice on springtails, they rarely mention which variety they are talking about. It would be like asking what is the best food source for amphibians, and then having some people respond with their advice on feeding frogs and some respond with advice on salamanders, but nobody mentioning anything other than "amphibians". 

Furthermore, there seem to be 2 or 3 main varieties of springs floating around the hobby, and no consensus as to which variety is what. It seems that what some people call a "tropical" is the same thing another person calls as "temperate". That confusion is evident in the poll so far. I think the problem with these designations, is that neither variety is exclusively tropical or temperate. As far as I can tell, they are all varieties that commonly live in greenhouses. 

I believe the springtails pictured above are called Sinella curviseta, which probably originate from China (not a tropical country), but are common in greenhouses around the world. Sinella curviseta have been cultured since the 1950s as feeder insects, and owing to the similarity between those above and Sinella curviseta, it wouldn't be shocking if somewhere in the past, a frog keeper either got a culture which could be traced back to those isolated in the 1950s (which are now available at universities across the country) or found them growing in a plant from a greenhouse. More info on Sinella curviseta below.
Checklist of the Collembola of the World
Springtail_1030 - Sinella curviseta - BugGuide.Net
YouTube - Sinella curviseta

This is the only species of springtail that I currently keep, because I think it makes the best food for my frogs, but obviously there are others out there. I think all the others being kept on a wide scale are much smaller, and may include
Folsomia Candida
or
Proisotoma minuta


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## bobberly1 (Jul 16, 2008)

They're identical to my tropicals, but it could jest be because all springtails look the same.


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## Corpus Callosum (Apr 7, 2007)

I received them as temperate (I took the photo), but everyone who I showed them to said they were tropical. Thanks for the info Mark.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Oh yeah. Thanks for the photo Corpus, I guess I should have acknowledged you. 
-mark


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## Corpus Callosum (Apr 7, 2007)

It certainly does look a lot like the Sinella curviseta you posted, I wonder how many other springs look identical to that? So are Sinella curviseta technically a temperate or tropical species?


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## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

My guess is they are Sinella too. How can you be certain of the species? Aren't some Sinella temperate? I'm culturing some that look like that which showed up in an isopod culture that I used dried leaves and twigs from my back yard. I don't remember putting anything tropical in it.


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