[AllenG (OP)]

Along the driveway, in the mud puddles, there is what looks like an oil slick.


But when you get closer you can see they are bugs, in the thousands, only a half or a quarter of a millimeter long.  I have no idea what they are, but they are in every puddle for a half a mile down the road.  And when the ground is dry they gather in the same herds in the puddle basins.


They bunch up on the surface of the water and squirm around, sometimes hopping.


You can see how small they are by the the size of the veins in the oak leaf.


Floating on the water's surface.


Dorsal side


Ventral side, and about as far as I can push my optics.

Who knows what these critters are?

{edit}
Forgot to add: These were taken in north Georgia, USA.

[dentstudent]

I think that they are Hypogastrura purpurescens, a kind of Springtail.

Have a look at this site - I think that they look close to this.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/174468

and also here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shane58/2457716820/

[AllenG (OP)]

I believe you are absolutely correct.
Thank you very much,

--A