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Millions of grey larvae #113178

Asked January 28, 2013, 3:25 PM EST

We have large puddles or colonies of grey colored tiny larvae or insects, with over a dozen piles of up to 3 feet in diameter and up to an inch deep, around the base of buildings. It almost resembles many containers of spilled gun powder, and exhibits movement when touched. They seem to prefer asphalt or dirt and nearly always near a structure. Must be millions of them. It also appears in the dogs water dish over the past week. Under 10x jewelers loop they appear to have wings and antennae and multiple legs and the entire creature is about 1mm long and when a few are separated from the group on a knife blade, they jump or fly off. Any ideas what they are?

Columbia County Oregon

Expert Response

These are most likely collembola, also called springtails (excellent photos BTW). See http://www.livingwithbugs.com/springtails.html for close-up pictures. They are harmless and will go away when the soils dry out a bit. See the page cited above for more info.


An Ask Extension Expert Replied January 28, 2013, 8:12 PM EST

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