Pocket ID Guide to Invertebrates of Urban Soils

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.  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, but it is also available as a screen-friendly UA version that can be viewed 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:

1. In the Print dialog, set page size to 'Fit' (default should be Letter-sized paper, Portrait orientation)
2. Select 2-sided printing / "print on both sides" with long-edge binding
3. 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
4. Fold the joined pages following the instructions for our bumble bee pocket guides and put it in your pocket!
    

Véase la versión en español aquí.