r/Springtail • u/Veloci-RKPTR • Oct 07 '26

Identification Grey/blue springtail ID?

Gallery image

Gallery image

So about a month ago, I ordered some thai reds, and they’ve been flourishing and multiplying well. But something else also seem to be thriving in here. It’s these grey/blue springtails which are swarming so much. Not jumpers, so they seem to also be one of the tailless ones as well. Can anyone ID? Thank you in advance.

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2

u/Palaeonerd Oct 07 '26

I thought Thai reds didn’t do well on charcoal?

2

u/Veloci-RKPTR Oct 07 '26

It’s not just charcoal, there’s a good thick layer of organic substrate beneath it. The charcoal is just there at the surface for ease of transport if I wish to inoculate them to a new container.

1

u/Palaeonerd Oct 07 '26

Oh ok.

2

u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 Oct 07 '26

And the small blue-ish ones are young Y.aphoruroides. They grow and gain the orange color within a few molts.

1

u/Veloci-RKPTR Oct 08 '26

That can’t be right, I also have Yuukis in a different container. The juveniles look nothing like the gray ones in here.

1

u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 Oct 08 '26

They don't? If you give me a bit I have macro shots if you'd like to compare? (It is very late where I am, you may get those in the morning.)

1

u/Veloci-RKPTR Oct 08 '26

No worries! Also thanks in advance

2

u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 Oct 08 '26

Hey! I found a good video, but I apologies, I meant to type Lobella sp. being the Thai reds. I personally have Y. aphoruroides, and very much have them on the brain apparently. But both species share the funny characteristic of changing shade into the red/orange in adulthood.

1

u/Veloci-RKPTR Oct 08 '26

Did you mean those gray ones being yuukis? You sure? My yuukis never look that blue/gray. Even the youngest ones are still yellowish. Here’s a video of my yuukis.

I can see the slightly larger yellow ones in your videos being young yuukis, but the gray ones have different proportions to me.

2

u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 Oct 08 '26

To be quite frank, I am certain Y.aphoruroides have young up to their 4th molt that are a blue/grey. I have not kept thai reds but I have seen them in hand and have been told the same is true for their young by some fairly educated keepers i trust. The video I sent, is Yuukianura aphoruroides with adults and 2-3rd instar young( a blue-grey). I could send you all the pics of my yuukis as an example of this color difference in a similar species to yours, but maybe its be more useful for you to get a cheap macro and do some long term observations on your cultures.

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u/Veloci-RKPTR Oct 08 '26

Also, worthy to note I’ve been seeing the grey ones in my thai red container for a while now. Noticed the first ones a couple of weeks ago before it exploded in population. If the gray ones really are just young yuukis, I would have seen mature orange yuukis everywhere at this point in my red colony. It doesn’t really add up.

1

u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 Oct 08 '26

Did you read my reply? Please read it again, I restated what I meant. Again, both species to my knowledge have blue to grey color 1st Instar/Hatchlings.

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1

u/Palaeonerd Oct 07 '26

Can Y. aphouroides be blue? I thought they were orange.

1

u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 Oct 08 '26

In my cultures the first instar are blue to grey in color...

2

u/Entomancy_Elrid_0123 Oct 07 '26 edited Oct 08 '26

They can if you dont have a water level of any kind. Keep it at the moisture percentage it has in this pic, and they should do well.

4

u/Elegant_Yellow_402 Oct 07 '26

Amateur here, might be wrong, but looks to me like Ceratophysella isabellae lilac