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Dicyrtomina saundersi

In Britain and Ireland three species of Dicyrtomina are very common. It is easy to tell Dicyrtomina minuta apart from the other two, for it is yellow, hardly marked, except for a dark blob on the rear end of the abdomen. Judging from the sceintific name you may think it is smaller than the others are, but that is not so: all three species measure 2 to 3 mm. The other two species Dicyrtomina saundersi and Dicyrtomina ornata are look-a-likes. They are brownish with variable greenish-yellowish markings. The best way to tell them apart is to look at the blob on the end of the abdomen. In Dicyrtomina saundersi this is a marking, while in Dicyrtomina ornata it is just a blob.

Dicyrtomina saundersi is a common species all over the British Isles, including all of Ireland. You will find it in leaf litter, under stones and fallen branches, but high in trees as well, where it lives under loose bark. This also is a very common species in gardens. It feeds on debris, decaying plant and animal material.