It only looks extraordinary because we have finally looked closely enough.
Field Notes
This globular springtail is only a few millimeters long, spending its life among damp leaves, moss, fungi, and decaying matter. It helps return what has died to the soil.
Beneath its body is a tiny spring-loaded structure that can throw it suddenly into the air. An entire body, pattern, function, and way of moving through the world—present all along, just below the threshold of our attention.