Trade name

Little Tiger Springtail

Trade name North America

Also written as: Tiger Springtail, Little Tiger, Little Tiger Springtails, Litle Tiger Springtail

Sold as Little Tiger Springtail. The most likely species is Entomobrya multifasciata.

I bought this Open the key with this name selected. It starts from the species behind the name and asks what you can see.

What you probably have

These are the species the name may stand for. The order and the words show how sure we are.

  • Likely

    Entomobrya multifasciata

    Sold as the hobby culture Little Tiger

    The seller lists Entomobrya multifasciata as the Little Tiger Springtail and says it has not been sold under another name. Anecdotal 1
  • Possible

    Entomobrya atrocincta

    Sold as the hobby culture Dimorphic

    The female of Entomobrya atrocincta has almost the same colour pattern and setae as E. multifasciata. The 2015 revision treats North American records of E. multifasciata as questionable for that reason. Anecdotal 2

How to tell them apart

The two species are separated under a microscope with a table of setae characters. Variation in the setae of E. atrocincta hides most of the differences. Anecdotal 2

If you sell or buy under this name

Tip Sell stock under a species name only after a microscope has confirmed it, and buy from sellers who can trace the stock back to a microscope identification. Anecdotal 1

What would settle it

Sources

  1. 1

    Springtail Identification and Common Name Resource

    Pavy R. Springtails US

    Link works · Retailer

    Cited at hobby name list, Entomobrya multifasciata "Little Tiger Springtail"; hobby name list, Tomocerus minor "Giant Runner Springtail".

  2. 2

    Taxonomic review and phylogenetic analysis of fifteen North American Entomobrya (Collembola, Entomobryidae), including four new species

    Katz AD, Giordano R, Soto-Adames F. 2015. ZooKeys 525: 1-75

    Verified against a registry · Peer-reviewed paper

    Cited at E. multifasciata remarks; E. atrocincta remarks and Table 3.