Most apterygotes live in soil and leaf litter or are associated with plants and rotting logs in moist regions. Collembolans are also found in aquatic environments, caves, permanent ice fields and snow, and insect and animal nests. Moisture is an important ecological factor in habitat selection. Most primitive wingless hexapods have a thin exoskeleton and must guard against dehydration.

The condition and nature of soil are important factors in the distribution and nature of collembolan populations. Fungi in soil are especially important as collembolan food. Physical factors known to affect collembolans often do so secondarily, with the primary effect being on the soil microflora. Changes in macroflora also affect collembolan populations. Direct cultivation (e.g., plowing) has an immediate harmful effect on collembolan populations but does little long-range damage. Fertilizers increase the numbers of collembolans in soil, and herbicides have no effect. Some insecticides are lethal, while others are not. Increases in soil collembolans following insecticide applications are probably due to lethal effects on predators. Estimates of soil collembolans average about 100,000 per cubic metre. Soil collembolans usually form aggregations. Certain species are more prevalent in a given layer (e.g., leaf litter, the fermentation layer, the humus-forming layer, or deep in the soil). Typically small species and young insects occur in deeper layers, although daily and seasonal vertical movements may occur. Occasional swarming of large numbers of collembolans occurs after unusually wet conditions.

The most important collembolan predators are mites. Others are pseudoscorpions, staphylinid beetles and carabid beetles, an empid fly, and dacytine ants. Occasional collembolan feeders include spiders, fish, frogs, miscellaneous ants, and pulmonate snails. Collembolans are parasitized by gregarines, nematodes, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and horsehair worms.

Head

Proturans have anteriorly directed, prognathous mouthparts and a pair of sense organs. Collembola have either prognathous or hypognathous, ventrally directed, mouthparts and may or may not have a pair of postantennal sense organs and lateral ocelli (simple eyes). The diplurans lack eyes and sense organs, while the Zygentoma have simple lateral eyes and are hypognathous. Archaeognatha have both large compound eyes and ocelli. Monurans had large compound eyes. Mouthparts are important taxonomically in primitive wingless hexapods. Movable mouthparts are generally recognized as walking limbs that were attached to ancestral body segments that became fused to form the posterior part of the head. The Protura, Collembola, and Diplura are entognathous, meaning that the mouthparts are withdrawn inside the head capsule. Monura, Zygentoma, and Archaeognatha are ectognathous, meaning that the mouthparts are exposed, as in pterygote insects. Mandibles are present in the biting mouthparts of Diplura, Zygentoma, Archaeognatha, Monura, and most Collembola. Although proturan mouthparts are modified for sucking, mandibles are retained. However, in collembolans with sucking mouthparts, mandibles may or may not be retained.

Body

In general the three segments of the thorax are distinct, and each bears one pair of legs. Each leg has a terminal claw. Proturan legs are simple except that the anterior legs are longer, serving as tactile organs with the anterior tarsus having sensory organs. The three pairs of legs are similar to each other in the apterygote groups.

The abdomen of Protura undergoes anamorphosis: in the first and second instars it has 9 segments, the third 10, and the rest 12. Collembola have a maximum of six abdominal segments. Diplura, Zygentoma, Archaeognatha, and the extinct Monura have 11 abdominal segments. The final abdominal tailpiece is the telson (see arthropod).

Modified abdominal structures

Primitive hexapods have abdominal structures that represent modified remnants of ancestral walking limbs. Many hexapods have cerci (sensory appendages) on the 11th abdominal segment, which aid in identification of the telson. The Protura, Collembola, and Monura lack cerci. In Diplura a pair of cerci arise from the small terminal segment. Cerci can be long with numerous segments, short with a central duct and terminal pore, or modified into a pair of pincers for holding prey. They are important taxonomic criteria in separating hexapod groups. The extinct monurans had pairs of abdominal structures, called ventral styli, that are modified limbs. Similar styli are present in Zygentoma and Archaeognatha. These hexapods also have one or two pairs of vesicles on some abdominal segments, as do proturans. Collembolans have a single tube containing a pair of vesicles, a single median tenaculum (catchlike process that holds furcula in place), and a single median furcula (springing organ). Each of these is a modified pair of ancestral limbs.

Locomotion

The primitive wingless hexapods are walking terrestrial invertebrates. Proturans, however, use only the middle and posterior legs for locomotion. The anterior pair of legs are held above the head and used as tactile organs. Collembolans have a furcula, a ventral abdominal springing organ that enables them to spring rapidly into the air. Apparently, Zygentoma and Archaeognatha have developed the median tail filament (telson) to assist in supporting the abdomen during movement. Archaeognathans can also spring with considerable agility by using the body and tail filaments.