August 2024

Everything You Wanted to Know About Collembola & Were Afraid to Ask Everything You Wanted to Know About Collembola & Were Afraid to Ask Over the years I have written several blog posts about Collembola. In this one, I put them all together which is probably the most informative collection of information you will ever find about these amazing organisms.  What are Collembola? Collembola is a 6 legged creature about 250 microns (size of a dust particle) in length and is rod shaped with a hinge like springing apparatus in the middle – see images below. For years it was classified as an insect, but more recently it has it’s own classification, Collembola. There are over 6,000 species world wide and thy have been on this earth for millions and millions of years. They are the planet’s garbage disposal system by consuming fungi, organic matter like dead leaves to keep our planet clean. In my book is a reference that finds about 19 of the 6,000 species have an affinity for flesh (our flesh). Without a microscope, they are basically invisible to the human eye. When they are on the skin, they blend right in and are invisible. In fact they are often called the Invisible Bug Biting Syndrome, (IBBS).  What the experts, parasitologists, etymologists and doctors say about Collembola  Unfortunately, as much as they know about Collembola, there’s so much that they don’t know. The article states, “Classified in phylum Arthropoda, class Entognatha, subclass Collembola, springtails are not harmful to humans unless they pop into your house by the hundreds for a visit and become a nuisance. They live on algae, fungi, and detritus, and rarely harm plants” We only wish that statement were true – that they are just nuisance. And of course, these same experts claim Morgellons is not a real disease.. It’s absolutely weird that from my estimation there are tens of thousands of us who live the nightmare of being impacted by spring tails. Aside from the research study referenced in my book done by the Pediculosis Society in 2002 and a Swedish study done in 1955, no one is studying these organisms. Click here for the study done in Sweden.  “A study conducted under the auspices of the National Pediculosis Association (NPA) in Needham, Mass. and the Oklahoma State Department of Health found over 90% of those in the study diagnosed with delusions of parasitosis were infested with Collembola. COLLEMBOLA (SPRINGTAILS) (ARTHROPODA: HEXAPODA: ENTOGNATHA) FOUND IN SCRAPINGS FROM INDIVIDUALS DIAGNOSED WITH DELUSORY PARASITOSIS in 2004 {17} Twenty people participated in the study.” The Various Names They Go By Snow fleas, spring tails, and Collembola are the same thing. Are you dealing with them on or in your skin? Why are they called snow fleas? “Often on sunny days in late winter, snow fleas work their way to the snow surface in numbers that amaze even the experienced outdoor adventurer. Why snow fleas gather on the surface of the snow is still being debated by biologists. One theory is that overcrowding and lack of food trigger them to migrate. Another theory suggests that the melting snow concentrates food at the surface.?” How Do you Know if Collembola is Your Nemesis? I have two questions on my questionnaire that are an indication of a Collembola infestation/infection.p  Do you ever feel like something is jumping on your ankles or legs?  But it’s invisible.p+. Do you have lots of activity around your eye lashes/eye lids – a crusty feeling? I don’t know why they love the eye lash area, but they do. They also love the back of your head, neck and shoulder blade area and create difficult-to-heal lesions.  It took me nearly ten years to put two and two together. When I was infected in the mid 90’s my suspicions were that it was from mites. And yes, I had mites. But, I also remember waking up one morning and for some reason I glanced at my right forefinger and I noticed a tiny rod shaped thing standing on end and it looked like it was waving at me. I could not figure out how to capture it and it was lost. It certainly was not a mite.  It wasn’t until 2006, while writing my first book, “Soothing the Itch Within and the Diet to Control It,”  did I hear the word Collembola from one of the people on my email list and I started putting two plus two together and realized the rod shaped thing I saw on my finger a decade ago was one Collembola organism.  Out of the millions that have been on my skin during those years, only one was visible – so you don’t see them unless they stand up and wave to you. lol However, you can get white glue boards from www.DoYourOwnPestControl.com and set them in areas around your toilet, sink, and so on and as they jump the will be captured and you can see them against the white background.  Lately, about 95% of those who are dealing with Morgellons Disease that send in the questionnaire answer, “yes,” to tose two questions which may interest you on reading this article, “Springtails are More Noticible in Winter“. The experts have always said that spring tails can’t bite you because they do not have mouth parts. But this article claims otherwise, “Snow fleas possess very unusual mouth parts that are contained inside the head rather than protruding on the outside like other insects.” It also notes that they can jump up to 12″ to 18″ whereas I’ve been saying 8 to 10″. But then there are 6,000 species and it’s unknown if the ones that jump 18 inches are the ones that bother us.  It’s also interesting that they can live for four years without food. And, as I’ve stated can live in a volcano as well as Antarctica. What doesn’t make sense is that it says that the eggs are hatched in the spring and it takes about 6 months to mature. I was under the impression that they lay eggs year round and mature quickly. My experience