The family Entomobryidae contains the so-called "slender springtails", a group of springtail

Springtail

Springtails form the largest of the three lineages of modern hexapods that are no longer considered insects...

s characterised as having an enlarged fourth abdominal segment

Segmentation (biology)

Segmentation in biology refers to either a type of gastrointestinal motility or the division of some animal and plant body plans into a series of repetitive segments. This article will focus on the segmentation of animal body plans, specifically using the examples of the phyla Arthropoda,...

 and a well-developed furcula

Furcula (Collembola)

The furcula, or furca, is a tail-like appendage shaped like a fork, found ventrally on the fourth abdominal segment of springtails. Present in most species dwelling the upper soil layers, it is used for jumping when the animal is threatened...

. Species in this family may be heavily scaled and can be very colourful. The scale-less Entomobryas are commonly caught in pitfall trap

Pitfall trap

A pitfall trap is a trapping pit for small animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles. Pitfall traps are mainly used for ecology studies and ecologic pest control. Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to escape, and may either be killed by the trap or remain unharmed...

s around the planet, and also occur in canopy faunas high up in trees (notably Entomobrya nivalis, very common throughout Europe if not the northern hemisphere).

Selected genera

• Corynothrix
• Dicranocentrus
• Entomobrya
• Hawinella
• Heteromurus
• Homidia
  Homidia
  Homidia is a genus of springtails belonging to the family Entomobryidae. Species include:*Homidia allospila*Homidia amethystina*Homidia anhuiensis*Homidia chosonica*Homidia chrysothrix*Homidia cingula*Homidia emeiensis...
  
  
• Janetschekbrya
• Lepidocyrtus
• Lepidosira
• Orchesella
  Orchesella
  Orchesella is a genus of springtails belonging to the family Entomobryidae. It contains the following species :*Orchesella adriatica *Orchesella ainsliei *Orchesella albofasciata *Orchesella albosa *Orchesella alpa...
  
  
• Orchesellides
• Pseudosinella
• Seira
• Sinella
• Willowsia

links

World Collembola list:
www.collembola.org

UK Collembola
http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/collembola/taxonomy/index.html