Leaf Litter Critters - OBIS

Leaf litter includes any leaves, twigs or bark that fall from trees onto the ground. The decomposing litter provides habitat for a variety of organisms. Browse this collection of species that may be found in leaf litter. Click on the species image to go to its EOL page to learn more.

Educational Activity

To learn more about the diversity and characteristics of animal species in leaf litter habitats check out the Litter Critters activity from our partners at Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS) from the Lawrence Hall of Science.

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- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Chelicerata
- Arachnida
Spiders

Araneae

. Spiders have two body sections, eight legs, mouth, fangs, eyes and and two small "mini-legs" called pedipalps used to grab prey.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Chelicerata
- Arachnida
Harvestmen

Opiliones

. Harvestmen have large glands that produce toxic chemicals to keep predators away.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Hexapoda
Springtails

Collembola

. Springtails are soft-bodied, oval or roundish shaped, primitive insects. Their bodies are made up of six or fewer segments and they lack wings. They occur in a range of colors including whitish, yellowish, brown, gray, bluish, or black.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Hexapoda
- Insecta
- Pterygota
- Endopterygota
Beetles

Coleoptera

. Beetle bodies have a head, thorax, and abdomen, and six legs. They have chewing mouthparts and modified wings: the first pair of wings is small and very hard, and acts as a protective covering for the second pair of wings. Many beetles can fly with their second pair of wings. Most adult beetles are brown or black, but some are very brightly colored.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Myriapoda
Millipedes

Diplopoda

. These invertebrates have long thin bodies made of many segments, protected by an exoskeleton. Each segment has two pairs of legs. They have a pair of antennae on their head, and chewing mouthparts.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Hexapoda
- Insecta
- Pterygota
Earwigs

Dermaptera

. Earwigs are elongate and slender insects that are typically brown or black. They have a front pair of wings reduced (some species are wingless). The abdomen is flexible, with a pair of forceps-like "cerci" (appendages) at the tip.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Hexapoda
- Insecta
- Pterygota
- Endopterygota
Flies

Diptera

. Flies, gnats, maggots, midges, mosquitoes, keds, bots, etc. are all common names for members of the order Diptera, or True Flies.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Myriapoda
Centipedes

Chilopoda

. Centipedes have long, segmented bodies, covered in a tough, flexible exoskeleton. Each segment has one pair of legs.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Hexapoda
- Insecta
- Pterygota
- Endopterygota
Wasps, Bees, And Ants

Hymenoptera

. All have chewing mouthparts, and the adults have a thin connection between their last two body sections (the abdomen and the thorax). All have 4 clear wings as adults, with the front pair larger than the back pair (queen and male ants have wings too, but only for a short time. Bees and wasps have straight antennae, ants often have a permanent bend in theirs.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Hexapoda
- Insecta
- Pterygota
- Endopterygota
- Hymenoptera
- Anthophila
Honeybees, Bumblebees, And Relatives

Apidae

. Adult bees have chewing mouthparts, four wings, and straight antennae. Most of them have yellow and black stripes, but some are bright green, and some are all black.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Hexapoda
- Insecta
- Pterygota
- Endopterygota
- Hymenoptera
Ants

Formicidae

. Ants have a distinctive body structure: while they have, like many insects, a head, thorax (the midsection), and abdomen (the rear section), their “waist” connecting their thorax to the main part of their abdomen is unusually thin and pinched. They live and work together in multi-generational colonies that are organized in “castes” of queens and males (who reproduce) and worker females (who cannot reproduce).
Termitoidae

Termitoidae

. Termites are soft-bodied, usually light-colored insects. The forewings and hindwings are equal in length and held flat against the back of the termite. </p>
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Spiralia
- Mollusca
Snails

Gastropoda Cuvier 1795

. The Class Gastropoda includes snails and slugs. Most gastropods have a single, usually spirally coiled shell, but the shell is lost or reduced in some groups. Gastropods have a muscular foot used for creeping in most species. In some, the foot is modified for swimming or burrowing.
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Ecdysozoa
- Arthropoda
- Multicrustacea
- Malacostraca
- Peracarida
Isopods

Isopoda Latreille 1817

. The isopod body is divided into three distinct regions: head, thorax, and abdomen. In isopods, the first segment of the thorax is fused to the head. The thorax has 7 segments, each with a pair of uniramous (single segment) legs. The abdomen has 5 segments, each with a pair of biramous legs (limbs that are split into two). Isopods have compound eyes, two pairs of antennae, and four sets of jaws
- Life
- Eukaryota
- Opisthokonta
- Metazoa
- Protostomia
- Spiralia
Segmented Worms

Annelida

. The majority of the body is comprised of repeated units called segments. The only parts of the annelid body that are not segmented are the head and a terminal post-segmental region called the pygidium.

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