About 25% of all known organisms on the planet are animals that live in the soil through all or a portion of their lives. The majority of these animals are invertebrates that interact with microbes, plants, and each other, forming the life of healthy soils.
The invertebrate animals featured in this guide are large enough to see with the naked eye, and found in the soils or leaf layer in urban farms, gardens, or yards across the contiguous United States. Each profile includes where you would likely find the animal, identification features, and the ecological and/or agricultural roles of that group.
How to Use
This pocket guide is intended as a portable, accessible, basic guide for observing and learning about soil invertebrates. It can be printed double-sided and folded to fit in a pocket. The ideal paper size is tabloid (11” x 17”), but letter (8.5” x 11”) works too. In the PDF, clicking the link icon in the upper right of each profile opens the full profile in the Farming with Soil Life Handbook publication. This pocket bioindicator guide is part of Xerces’ Soil Life project and resources.