springtail — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Any of various wingless hexapods, of the subclass Collembola, with spring-like legs.

   Examples

   Among the wonders of the natural world that few people have ever noticed: a semiaquatic springtail in motion.

   More examples (1)

   Springtails, or collembolans, are strictly not insects because of technicalities to do with the position of their mouthparts, but they are the closest cousins of insects.

Noun

1. any of numerous minute wingless primitive insects possessing a special abdominal appendage that allows the characteristic nearly perpetual springing pattern; found in soil rich in organic debris or on the surface of snow or water

   Synonyms

   collembolan

   Broader terms

   insect