Sminthurides malmgreni globular springtails on the edge of a garden pond
An interesting encounter this, and as it's a species I've only recently observed, I'm not sure of what I was watching. I was getting a few shots of a male alongside a juvenile (they are very cute and as the males are in the to range, you get any idea of quite how tiny they are) . Another male moved towards them as the two males went head to head. This species court head to head, with the males modified antenna gripping the larger female's antenna, but I wonder whether this encounter between the males was a friendly greeting, or a more hierarchy establishing 'rut'? They separated quicly and the second male moved away again. This is the first time I've seen males interact together, it will be interesting to watch this species going forward, it's nice that there so many in close quarters, they're scope for learning more about them, that I don't often see in the larger species.
Size: 4686px × 2991px
Location: Deepcut, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © Mark Horton / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: globby, globular, invertebrate, macro, springtail
