Several species of Colpoda have been found in the pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea, despite the presence of protease digestive enzymes in the liquid.

[7] In addition to inhabiting a wide variety of microclimates, Colpoda can be found almost everywhere around the world where there is standing water or moist soil, even where these conditions are only ephemeral.

Colpoda are also found in the arctic where warmer temperatures and longer summers lead to greater density and species diversity.

The rate at which such reproduction occurs and how it is affected by various environmental conditions has been the subject of a great deal of scientific research.

However, the knowledge gained by many years of culturing Colpoda in hay infusions has shown that this mode of reproduction remains rare despite what would seem to be ideal environmental conditions.

Following conjugation, the Colpoda divides, redistributing the DNA of the two original cells to produce numerous genetically distinct offspring.

[14][15][16] Most Colpoda species are either primarily or exclusively bacterivores feeding on a wide variety of bacteria, which include Moraxella.