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 are found in the soil or leaf layer in urban farms, gardens, or yards across the contiguous United States. Developed with support from an NCR-SARE Professional Development Grant, each profile includes where you would likely see 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. This pocket ID guide is part of Xerces’ Soil Life project and resources.
It can be printed double-sided and folded to fit in a pocket, or it is also available as a screen-friendly UA version for viewing on a phone, tablet, or computer. Note: In the screen-friendly PDF, clicking or tapping the link icon in the upper right of each profile opens the full profile in the Farming with Soil Life Handbook publication.
To print a copy for your pocket, download one of the two printer-friendly versions (depending on your printer's options). The ideal paper size is tabloid (11” x 17”), but letter (8.5” x 11”) works, too. Please note that the printer-friendly versions of the guide are not accessible or interactive (linked).
- Printer-friendly tabloid, 11" x 17" requires a printer able to handle 11" x 17" (tabloid-sized) paper. Use this version if you have access to a larger printer, just remember to select 2-sided printing / "print on both sides" to get the guide on a single sheet!
- Printer-friendly letter, 8.5" x 11" can be printed on any standard home/office printer. This file has been formatted to print correctly but will look odd on your screen.
To print:
- In the Print dialog, set page size to 'Fit' (default should be Letter-sized paper, Portrait orientation)
- Select 2-sided printing / "print on both sides" with long-edge binding
- After printing, place pages side by side using the Insect section border as guides and tape the pages together down center seam on both sides
- Fold the joined pages following the instructions for our bumble bee pocket guides and put it in your pocket.
Download
- Download PDF (screen-friendly UA version)(1008.65 KB)
- Download PDF (printer-friendly tabloid, 11" x 17")(2.1 MB)
- Download PDF (printer-friendly letter, 8.5" x 11")(858.74 KB)
- Véase la versión en español aquí.
Want more information? See the related SARE grant:
- The Urban Farming Soil Life Short Course (ENC21-205)
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.