They are not fleas. These tiny primitive hexapods are the fleas of the insect world minus the biting and the blood-sucking. They are so small they look like moving specks of dust usually white grey or sometimes vibrant blue. Do not let their size fool you. They possess a remarkable biological spring-loaded mechanism called a furcula tucked under their abdomen. When threatened they snap this tail down against the ground launching themselves into the air with a speed that defies their diminutive stature. That getaway move executes in milliseconds leaving predators grasping at empty air. They are the janitors of the soil feeding on mould fungi and decaying plant matter. Without them the forest floor would be buried under an avalanche of unread leaves. They thrive in moisture drying out quickly in the sun which is why they are only visible when you disturb the damp dark world beneath a rotting log. Suddenly the soil seems to boil with thousands of tiny jumping specks a secret society revealed for a brief moment before they vanish again. Despite their abundance they are rarely seen by the casual observer. They are the hidden workforce of the garden tirelessly recycling nutrients while remaining anonymous. To know they are there is to understand that the soil is alive teeming with microscopic energy and movement. They are the tiny jumping heartbeats of the earth proving that you do not need to be big to make a leap. Springtails are among the most ancient terrestrial animals on the planet. Fossil evidence places them in Devonian rocks over four hundred million years old making them senior citizens compared to dinosaurs. They were there when the first plants crawled onto land and they have been decomposing ever since. Their mouthparts are internal hidden within a pouch a primitive feature that distinguishes them from true insects. They moult throughout their lives not just in their youth shedding their skin up to fifty times. Some species can survive being frozen solid thawing out on a warm day and resuming their tiny jumpy lives as if nothing happened. Under a microscope springtails reveal unexpected beauty. Their bodies are covered in intricate patterns of scales tubercles and sensory hairs. The furcula is held in place by a clasp called a retinaculum and when released it strikes the ground with enough force to propel the animal up to ten centimetres. For a two-millimetre creature that is the equivalent of a human jumping over a house. They are also surprisingly social gathering in dense aggregations that communicate through chemical signals. Some species even cooperate to build nests or tend fungal gardens. The hidden workforce it turns out has a hidden social life as well.