Earthworm, Cacing tanah
They has no legs. Their bodies are long, slender, soft and segmented. Although they cannot see or hear, they are sensitive to light and vibration.
Local name: Cacing tanah
Ecological function: Ecosystem engineer, detritivore, prey-predator relationship
Level in food chain: Primary and secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Omnivore, detritivore, geophagous (soil-eating)
Food item: Soil, decaying and living plant matter, fungi, bacteria and other microscopic animals
Microhabitat: Soil, litter
Importance: Improve soil structure and fertility by burrowing and casting
Ant, Semut
They have a thin waist and are usually wingless. They build nests in soil. They live in colonies and are divided into queens and workers.
Local name: Semut
Ecological function: Detritivore, predator, scavenger
Level in food chain: Primary and secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Omnivore, detritivore
Food item: Seeds, fruits, plant saps, fungi, milk of aphids and other true bugs, insect eggs and larvae, small living or dead invertebrates
Microhabitat: Almost everywhere
Importance: Improve soil structure and fertility by feeding and nesting
Termite, Anai-anai
They have thick waists, short legs and straight antennae. The workers and solders are wingless, soft-bodied and cream-white. The swarmers (reproductive adults) have two pairs of long wings and are covered by hard exoskeletons that are brown in colour.
Local name: Anai-anai
Ecological function: Detritivore, prey-predator relationship
Level in food chain: Primary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Herbivore, detritivore
Food item: Wood, grass, leaves, humus, manure of plant-eating animals, and materials of vegetative origin such as paper, cardboard and cotton
Microhabitat: Decaying wood, soil, man-made environments such as buildings
Importance: Promote nutrient cycling by breaking down woody materials
Beetle, Kumbang
They have two sets of wing. Underneath their thick, hard forewings are the folded, fragile wings for flying.
Local name: Kumbang
Ecological function: Pollinator, decomposer, scavenger, predator, prey-predator relationship
Level in food chain: Primary and secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Omnivore, detritivore, coprophagous (faeces-eating)
Food item: Living plant materials, fungi, eggs, faeces, other small animals
Microhabitat: Almost everywhere
Importance: Improve soil structure and fertility by feeding and foraging
Nematode, Cacing gelang
They are long, slender, tapered at both ends. Their bodies are smooth and unsegmented.
Local name: Cacing gelang
Ecological function: Decomposer, parasite, predator, prey-predator relationship
Level in food chain: Decomposer; primary and secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Herbivore, microbivore, detritivore, omnivore or carnivore
Food item: Organic debris, plant roots, bacteria, algae, fungi, other nematodes
Microhabitat: Animals and plants, soil, freshwater and marine
Importance: Promote nutrient cycling by decomposition and feeding
Mite, Hama
They have four pairs of legs. They may appear as tiny white dots moving across soil surface.
Local name: Hama
Ecological function: Parasite, predator, detritivore
Level in food chain: Primary and secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Herbivore, detritivore, microbivore, carnivore
Food item: Decaying organic matter, bacteria, algae, fungi, nematodes, other mites, various stages of insects
Microhabitat: Animals and plants, soil, freshwater and marine
Importance: Promote nutrient cycling by decomposition and feeding
Springtail
Also known as Collembola, they are wingless and soft-bodied soil dwellers. When disturbed, they extend their forked tails to spring into the air. They have a tube-like structure under their abdomen to take up water.
Local name: –
Ecological function: Detritivore, predator
Level in food chain: Primary and secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Detritivore, microbivore, carnivore
Food item: Bacteria, fungi, lichens, algae, decaying vegetation. Some feed on dead animals, other springtails and small invertebrates, plant roots and young plants.
Microhabitat: Organic debris and places of high moisture; leaf litter, soil, sand, under stones or tree bark, in tree canopies, caves and nests of ant and termite
Importance: Promote nutrient cycling by feeding
Protozoa
They are microscopic and one-celled. Most of them have hair-like structures or arm-like outgrowths for feeding and movement.
Local name: –
Ecological function: Mutualist, parasite, predator, prey-predator relationship
Level in food chain: Primary, secondary and tertiary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Microbivore, herbivore, omnivore or carnivore
Food item: Algae, bacteria, fungi, other protozoa and small invertebrates
Microhabitat: Marine, freshwater and soil
Importance: Promote nutrient cycling by mineralising nutrients and controling bacteria population
Centipede, Lipan
Their bodies are long, flattened and segmented. They have one pair of legs per segment. They use their modified front legs to inject venom into their prey.
Local name: Lipan
Ecological function: Predator, scavenger
Level in food chain: Secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Carnivore
Food item: Insects and other small animals; dead or decaying plants or animals
Microhabitat: Usually found in rotting materials
Importance: Improve soil structure by tunneling
Fungi, Kulat
They do not move. Their bodies are made up of threadlike structures. They release digestive enzymes to break down their food and absorb nutrients.
Local name: Kulat
Ecological function: Decomposer, mutualist, parasite
Level in food chain: Decomposer; primary and secondary consumer
Feeding behaviour: Decomposer
Food item: Dead or decaying materials such as wood, leaf litter, paper, textile and leather. Mutualistic fungi work with algae or plants and get nutrients in return. Parasitic fungi invade living plants and animals and obtain nourishment from their hosts.
Microhabitat: Soil, litter, freshwater or marine
Importance: Promote nutrient cycling by decomposition
Urban Biodiversity Initiative (UBI) 