Genus Dicyrtomina IDs

[pikecountyzoology]

I read this guide, and noticed that Dicyrtomina minuta in this guide (https://collembolla.blogspot.com/2018/05/dicyrtomidae-identification-guide.html?m=1) was without the pattern. A BugGuide ID (https://bugguide.net/node/view/346700/bgpage) also mentions something similar to this regarding a pattern on the abdomen. while with IDs on Long Island both D. minuta and D. ornata on iNaturalist appear to have the pattern. Are these two species getting incorrectly identified or is there something in the picture (figure of speech) that I just haven’t noticed yet? There’s also the subspecies thing which complicates it even more. If anyone can help, especially someone who’s familiar with IDs and the genus Dicyrtomina it would be appreciated.

[alexis_orion]

I’m not exactly sure, and I’ve wondered about the same thing… For European ones it seems pretty clear based on the patterning, but in North America a lot of the ones with strong patterns are identified as D. minuta (I guess the subspecies D. minuta ornata?). I’m not exactly sure what the distinction is, whether it’s based on range or something else, but I’m curious if anyone else knows.

[zdanko]

I talked with Dr. Frans Janssens a while back on this.

In Europe, researchers accept three species: D. minuta, D. ornata, and D. saundersi.

In the Americas, those three species are considered forms of D. minuta.

Therefore, all observations of Dicyrtomina cf. minuta in America should be identified as D. minuta, and may or may not be identified to their forms, and in Europe, they should be identified to the respective species.

This is a provisionary step until a worldwide revision is published. It has not been determined yet if the European species match exactly to the American forms, so for now, to be prudent, we should follow the above.

Also, in Europe, D. minuta f. couloni is considered D. ornata f. couloni.

[pikecountyzoology]

Thanks for the info and advice on IDs, it was helpful regarding the European and American forms!