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Nematodes Mites
Millipedes  Millipedes
are vegetarians, scavenging on the soft tissues of dead plants. They
live mostly under plants and in the litter layer. They break up large
organic fragments into smaller pieces which can then be eaten by smaller
animals and microorganisms
Check out the IPM Project in the module on the Environmental
Impact of Pest Control Photographs on this page courtesy of |
Collembolans are sometimes called springtails, because they
have a forked spring on the rear end of their body. They activate
this spring when they sense danger which shoots them through the
air and out of harms way. Collembolans graze on fungi and bacteria
growing in the soil and partly decayed organic material.
Some nematodes filter tiny pieces of organic debris, bacteria
and other small microbes they can find. Nematodes are the most diverse
group of animals living in the soil. It has been estimated that
up to three quarters of all the species of organisms living in soil
are nematodes. 
Some
mites are vegetarians, feeding on any available dead plant material
they can digest. They consume the fungi and bacteria growing on
the dead organic matter and suck the juices out of partly decayed
vegetable matter. 
Snails
and slugs graze by scrapping their tooth across a surface, picking
up bits of living and dead material and digesting what it can. Although
some species are serious pests of crops and garden plants, most
snails and slugs live on organic matter, scavenging on edible dead
material they come across.