2026-07-26 08:08 UTC
The cosmopolitan 'moss' springtail (Neanura muscorum) navigating a miniature forest of fungi on a decaying log. But it isn't alone — all those transparent blobs on its body are in fact curled-up, hitchhiking nematode worms (you can see these better in the second photo)!
Much like the baby mite in my last post, these tiny worms are using a larger animal to help them disperse to new environments. It's thought that this 'phoretic' behaviour might be a stepping stone in how parasitism evolved in some nematodes.
Read all about the incredible ways soil animals have adapted to the challenges of life, in my upcoming book #TheWorldBeneathOurFeet, which lands just one month from now!
#SoilBiodiversity #SoilEcology #Nature #Entomology #Soil
Replies (4)
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@mekhos@mastodon.social 2026-07-26 11:05
@frankashwood@flipping.rocks what an epic stack of organisms!
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@NatureMC@mastodon.online 2026-07-26 12:52
@frankashwood@flipping.rocks I love your stories about these tiny worlds and can't await your book. This ⬆️ is also fascinating for #mosstodon and #sporespondence #fungi #nematode
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@Mimesatwork@wandering.shop 2026-07-26 13:00
@frankashwood@flipping.rocks He looks like a tiny crochet blåhaj :ablobcatheartsqueeze:
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@futurebird@sauropods.win 2026-07-26 14:06
@frankashwood@flipping.rocks I'm inclined to call this "diabolical" because I'm always, perhaps unfairly, suspicious of nemotodes. What are they doing? Who do they work for? Gotta keep an eye on those.