Close up of a large European frog (Rana temporaria), with a springtail (collembola) walking across it.
It had been heavily raining and the ground was streaming with water. I saw an European frog, and then noticed this small arthropod, a collembola or springtail was walking up the frog's leg. It tactually clambered across the middle of her eyeball, up her eyebrow and then over towards her nose. The frog didn't flinch at all. A springtail or collembola is a very small arthropod, that lives and feeds in the leaf litter. They are only a couple of mm long, sometimes colourless, and are no longer classified as insects for various reasons. There are beneficial to the breaking down process of organic matter within a forest environment.
Size: 5200px × 3467px
Location: Wass woods, North Yorkshire
Photo credit: © Neil Wolfe / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: amphibian, arthropod, close-, collembola, european, eye, frog, macro, rana, springtail, temporaria, waiting
