This is one of the globular springtails I encounter most consistently, and at this point I’ve seen hundreds of individuals across all sorts of areas. Once you know what to look for, Ptenothrix maculosa starts showing up everywhere: damp forest floors, mossy logs, saturated leaf litter, and shaded soil.
Ptenothrix maculosa is highly variable in colour, which led to widespread misidentifications with several other Ptenothrix species. Many supposed “new” or mislabeled species were later shown through microscopy, by citizen scientists, to be colour variants of Ptenothrix maculosa, clearing up long-standing confusion.
Ptenothrix maculosa can be reliably identified by its distinctive bent, three-segmented antenna with a horn-like tip, specific head and shoulder hairs, and a very hairy rear and back. It is a pretty large springtail at 2–3 mm so it is notciable on logs and rocks.
Despite being common, it never really gets boring to find them around. Patterning varies more than you’d expect, especially in the size patterning. They seem to be found almost year round so I've been seeing them often, making my observation numbers high. If you live in or near the PNW, go on a walk in the woods and stop to see if you can find these or other globular springtails on logs or bark. You'll probably find some! To the side are some examples of their variability.
Ptenothrix delongi is a large globular springtail that is endemic to the PNW. They show strong seasonal colour variation. In winter they have darker patterns on a yellow body, while in summer they are very much lighter and sometimes entirely yellow, with some individuals nearly patternless or showing only a faint midline. It is relatively large at about 2 mm.
They are most active during the winter seasons along with most Dicyrtomidae. They like to inhabit flat wooden areas and low shrubbery.
Ptenothrix delongi is a close relative of Pteothrix maculosa and for over 5 years, their species were mixed up. Ptenothrix delongi was long misidentified as Ptenothrix maculosa until late 2024 when microscopy by citizen scientists on iNaturalist confirmed it as a distinct species.
Ptenothrix beta is a variable, patterned, and unique large globular springtail. Ptenothrix beta is mainly recognized by its broken carrot-shaped pattern, white-and-brown sideburns (sometimes forming a “Saudi Arabia” shape), less hairy antennae than Ptenothrix delongi, and a hairy rear. Some individuals lack the carrot pattern but still have bristly antennae and the distinctive sideburn colors.
Ptenothrix beta was originally confused with Ptenothrix maculosa until early 2025, when citizen scientists using antennae microscopy confirmed it as a separate species. If you want to learn how to distingish these more adaptly and how the mistaken identity of Ptenothrix was sorted out, check out Pete Lypkie's work.
Dicyrtomina ornata is a medium sized globular springtail with a rounded body and bold, marbled or spotted color patterns that vary a lot between individuals. They live all over the place ranging from North America to Europe.
Dicyrtomina ornata is up there in my most common species of globular springtails. They live in similar areas as Ptenothrix maculosa - wood, leaflitter, and soil, but are only out and about in the colder seasons. I start to see them around late November and then they stick around until early March. You might see one or two unaccasionaly later than March, but the masses of them dissappear by then.
Dicyrtomina ornata is very variable in terms of colouring, ranging from light yellow to quite dark. On Dicyrtomina ornata the antennae are both the same colour whereas in the other local species, Dicyrtomina saundersi, there is a noticable colour change at the joint sections of 2 and 3 on the antennae. Dicyrtomina ornata has a dark black blotch on their rear instead of the "multi-barred cross" pattern AKA "pine tree" pattern that can be seen on Dicyrtomina saundersi. Basing ID only off of butt patterns alone is risky because Dicyrtomina ornata and Dicyrtomina saundersi can have really similar patterns.