Friend or foe: Part 2 (found in my springtail colony)

Almost a year ago, I bought a 6"x6" tupperware container with an established springtail colony inside. There were hundreds of thousands of them. I immediately made up two new containers and split the colony. The new homes had a mixture of peat/coco, so they could one day live in a terrarium without much shock. But I've kept the original colony, with it's original 'substrate' (smells just awful), just in case anything went awry with the splinters.

Things have been going quite well for all three enclosures. I use the original colony to seed planters, since I can pour in about an ounce of water, and pour that (with floating 'tails) into any potted plant. This way, I can seed 10 or 10 000 into whatever I choose. Always making sure that I leave plenty for reestablishment.

Last week, my entire original colony died. Opened the container for feeding time (they get brewers yeast) and the whole thing was still. Not a single movement from any of the thousand occupants. I was devastated, but remembered that I have two additional colonies (both of which are doing quite well). I rinsed out the dead guys, stirred the substrate a bit, checked through for anything that looked different..... then added some from both splinter colonies.

Checking on them today, I've noticed about a dozen tiny worms, white/clear like baby earthworms (I have a colony of those too ), just sitting on top of the substrate. They've since buried themselves, so no photo op for this one. They are about 5 times longer than an adult 'tail, but only as wide. They shrink up a bit when touched. Also, there are no worms to speak of in either splinter colony (just double checked, no tracks from them).


TL;DR: Are tiny worms in the springtail bin a threat? And just how did they get into a fully sealed tupperware enclosure? Anyone have these, and if so, do you keep them?

(Google seems to know about 'tails in the worm bin, but no seems to care for worms in the 'tail bin.)

What you are describing sounds a lot like nematodes. If those tiny worms are round, it is almost certain I would guess. About half the appox 25,000 described species are parasitic so yes, they would be a threat. They are ubiquitous. They get into any environment.

That springtail colony sounds really great, where did you get it?
(Sorry, nothing constructive )

The Snark said:

What you are describing sounds a lot like nematodes. If those tiny worms are round, it is almost certain I would guess. About half the appox 25,000 described species are parasitic so yes, they would be a threat. They are ubiquitous. They get into any environment.

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Oh dag. That might be what killed off the colony first time 'round. I'll see if I can get a good pic of them soon.

Micrathena said:

That springtail colony sounds really great, where did you get it?
(Sorry, nothing constructive )

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A small table at an expo. Can't remember the vendor, but I was looking for exotic isopods (orange, white, whatever) he didn't have any. But then he opened a small $10 box of springtails and I almost squealed like a small child. They are fantastic and everything I've added them to still has a small colony of their own.

I say, if you're going have bugs in with your plants, better off with ones you grew yourself!

UPDATE: Got some pictures of the ugly little invaders.

While the colony isn't reproducing very fast, it seems like the nematodes aren't winning either. Only a ½ dozen were moving from the hundreds I can see. Most are looking more transparent than yesterday, and aren't moving at all. The springtails are just as active as ever, just much less of them.

The bin itself:



Two close-up shots: most of those worms were removed with a toothpick, and barely moved in the process.




Still not sure how this happened. They are fed from a sealed container (can old-arsed brewers yeast be contaminated?), given standing water from a squirt bottle, live in a sealed container in the darkness of a cupboard..... And they were fine for about 9 months. When I first discovered the colony collapse, I rinsed out the substrate with tap water, but quickly poured it out. When I added new water, it was from the bottle again.

I'll keep this post updated, as each day I'll be pulling out as many 'todes as I can find. With any luck, my original colony can survive this.

Yup, nematodes. Heads visible.
Capable of cryptobiosis, some have eggs so small the can be transmitted from an infected mammals respirations. Survives year long baths in chlorinated water. Call them serious survivalists.


Here is a wonderful quote from Nathan Cobb
In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represented by a film of nematodes. The location of towns would be decipherable, since for every massing of human beings there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites.

Well. That's certainly not a good thing then.

I guess I'm cultivating a parasitic organism, amongst my many other random creatures.
Any ideas for their possible eradication? Are these something I should be worried about coming into contact with? Should I wear gloves/mask/etc when dealing with the enclosure? As I'm sure the 'Innernets' would suggest, should I kill it with fire?

Honestly, I'm not above taking care of these as a pet of sorts, but I don't want them infecting anything else except that specific colony of springtails.

And thank you, Mr. The Snark, for your fantastic, most poetic assistance.

Your problem is... a little weird and possibly overwhelming. They have identified about 25,000 nematode species of an estimated, so far, 4,000,000 species. So you could easily have several different kinds. The visible ones could be complete harmless and the 'tails could have another, maybe microscopic variety, inside them.
When dealing with a field as wide open as nematodes, you could just as easily make discoveries as significant as controlled environment labs do. For example, the scientific community can't even agree on what role the nematode plays in the various environments and more often than not they are guessing in the dark.

They don't appear to be doing much of anything on the substrate. Most of them aren't moving at all, and barely move when I pick them up with a toothpick. For now, I'm calling that bin a quarantine, and I'll watch the results. It's a nice little experiment, with good controls. They get fed and watered, and sealed back up, making less variables to think about.

And I'll be keeping a close eye on splinter colonies 1 and 2 for signs as well. Exciting!

Personally id start a fire, and toss the whole container in. Its only a matter of time before those invade the rest of your collection.

catfishrod69 said:

Personally id start a fire, and toss the whole container in. Its only a matter of time before those invade the rest of your collection.

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I'd like to avoid a full scale invasion. At the moment, all containers are sealed. If I need to open any of them, I place them on a square of clean cardboard. Generously wash my hands. There's a good chance that I'll need a proper disposal in time, however. Fire is likely the best cleaner for this mess.

I understand. But...they got into the sealed enclosure somehow .

UPDATE: non-scientific, very 'reachy-style' conclusion....

The worms appear to have disappeared.

For the past week, I've been treating the infected colony as normal, just to see what might happen. At first, springtail population remained very scarce, and still mostly adults. The nematodes themselves appeared very lethargic, and barely moved when touched or extracted via toothpick. Yet they still seemed to increase in numbers, and the 'todes were starting to look like they may overpopulate the container.

Checking on them a few days ago showed some growth in the springtail population, with numerous young now outnumbering adults. Still some nematodes, but they were still quite lethargic. I fed the 'tails, gave them some distilled water, put them back in the darkness.

Today, not a worm to be found on the surface. Didn't go digging, but instead, noticed that all food was gone. Good sign, me thinks. Mayhaps the environment was great for nematodes, but there just wasn't enough food for them.

I'll continue to update...

edgeofthefreak said:

UPDATE: non-scientific, very 'reachy-style' conclusion....

The worms appear to have disappeared.

For the past week, I've been treating the infected colony as normal, just to see what might happen. At first, springtail population remained very scarce, and still mostly adults. The nematodes themselves appeared very lethargic, and barely moved when touched or extracted via toothpick. Yet they still seemed to increase in numbers, and the 'todes were starting to look like they may overpopulate the container.

Checking on them a few days ago showed some growth in the springtail population, with numerous young now outnumbering adults. Still some nematodes, but they were still quite lethargic. I fed the 'tails, gave them some distilled water, put them back in the darkness.

Today, not a worm to be found on the surface. Didn't go digging, but instead, noticed that all food was gone. Good sign, me thinks. Mayhaps the environment was great for nematodes, but there just wasn't enough food for them.

I'll continue to update...

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Sounds like you have it wired. The easiest way to get rid of nematodes is find/create a hostile environment for the various species present. That's a bit of a guessing game. Then you want to maintain that exact hostile environment until all eggs gave hatched.

The Snark said:

Sounds like you have it wired. The easiest way to get rid of nematodes is find/create a hostile environment for the various species present. That's a bit of a guessing game. Then you want to maintain that exact hostile environment until all eggs have hatched.

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That's the plan! I keep using springtails for this very reason, but I'm glad it's working in the home too. With any luck, I'll be able to trust that colony again.

Now, almost 2 weeks later, cannot find worms anywhere. That may be due to the massive increase in springtail population. There are tens of thousands again, and in every size.

When I first posted pictures, there were only adults, and not very many of them. Seeing so many hatchlings in the substrate seems to be good news. I'll keep them under quarantine for another few weeks. Might even make a couple of splinters for better observation, keeping note that they are under quarantine as well.

Who knew* tiny arthropods were as exciting as big ones??


*Likely many members here, lol.

Keep cyclic population events in mind. Die offs and population explosions are natural.

BIG UPDATE:

Yep, nematodes. Still have em for time to time. They come for the substrate itself, as it is an organic substance in our universe. Of course it has nematodes.

I have made several splitter colonies from the original three, and about 1 in 15 will have 'todes. I do exactly as in previous posts - keep feeding the 'tails until the 'todes are gone. There hasn't been any backlash, nor any mass die offs. The 'todes often find a single droplet of water, and live in that until it dries up. These delis are sealed, so those droplets last a week or more.

Also, I haven't seen adult 'todes since the pic I took. Anything I find now are from a mostly dried up bag of potting soil. Likely, I've hatched dormant eggs, and the moisture helps with that immensely. Once they hatch, the adult springtails out-eat them at every turn, and the 'todes can't seem to reach adulthood in any way.

After they've been on the QT shelf for a month, I put them back with the other colonies. These 'todes are easy to find, as the delis get condensation, you'll see tiny trails left behind by 'todes, and 'tails don't ever leave tracks.


I'll be investigating a new source of invader: thread here.

Any pictures of the nemotodes? Do they get as large as phorid fly larvae, or are they much smaller?