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Hobby culture

Common White

Common name Probable

Also sold as Temperate White, Temperate Springtail

A culture sold as Common White. The working identification is Folsomia candida.

This name may cover several look-alike species.

A name used wrongly in the trade is not a synonym. Treat it as a trade label.

What the name stands for

Three different things share one name. A culture is not a species, and a species is not the animals in your tub. Keeping them apart is how this site avoids repeating the trade's mistakes.

  1. The culture

    A lineage kept in tubs and passed between keepers under one name. The name comes from the trade.

    Name type
    Common name

    The origin of this stock is not documented.

  2. The species it matches

    The working identification, and how it was reached.

    Folsomia candida
    Name form
    Exact name The name has been matched against the published description.
    How sure
    Probable More likely than not, with gaps left.

  3. The animals checked

    A specimen was examined.

    Basis
    Body form
    Review
    Reviewed by a curator

Care advice follows the working identification. Check it against what you see.

Notes

Warning Folsomia candida has sometimes been sold as Tropical White, a name that belongs with the pale form of Coecobrya tenebricosa. Springtails US says it should not continue to be sold under that name. Anecdotal 1

What would settle it

  • Which genetic lineage are hobby Common White cultures?

    Molecular Open

    Why it matters. Folsomia candida is at least two lineages that look alike and live differently. Care advice and published life-history numbers may fit one lineage and not another.

    What would help. COI barcodes from several hobby and retail cultures, compared with the laboratory lineages described in the 2015 strain study and the 2023 genome study.

    Tully and Potapov 2015 on Folsomia candida strains

  • Is a culture sold as Tropical White a *Coecobrya* or a *Folsomia*?

    Trade names Needs a voucher specimen

    Why it matters. The name Tropical White is used for the pale form of Coecobrya tenebricosa and has also been used for Folsomia candida. The two want different care.

    What would help. A voucher from each culture checked under a microscope, and a note of the seller and the date of purchase.

Sources

  1. 1

    Springtail Identification and Common Name Resource

    Pavy R. Springtails US

    Link works · Retailer

    Cited at hobby name list, Folsomia candida Temperate Common White Springtail.