Spring Forward, It's Spring Little Springtail!

I love photographing bugs and this time of year there are not many visible so I scratch around in leaf litter which is teeming with springtails.

I think this one is Tomocerus minor, the silver springtail, in its mossy brickdust garden. Its body has a pixelated effect owing to tiny iridescent scales.

Springtails are around half a millimetre long and can spring fifteen millimetres into the air, the equivalent of a human jumping over the Eiffel Tower.

I shot various flies yesterday when it was sunny and saw a bee on the wing last week. According to the the Met Office it's the first day of spring. Bug season 2013 is upon us. :)