Finding Snow Fleas
Winter 2017
By Dr. Patrick Rusz, Director of Wildlife Programs
If you like to take walks on warm, sunny winter days, you might be rewarded by finding black powder on the snow. Look closely, and you might see it moving as the black powder is actually a seething mass of tiny jumping insects - snow fleas.
Actually, snow fleas are not really fleas, or even related to fleas. Snow fleas are springtails, in the Order Collembola. World-wide there are 2,000 species of springtails and in North America, about 350. Nobody knows for sure, since scientists believe there are many undiscovered species. Most are not as easy to spot as snow fleas because they live in the upper surface of the soil "litter."
By Dr. Patrick Rusz, Director of Wildlife Programs
If you like to take walks on warm, sunny winter days, you might be rewarded by finding black powder on the snow. Look closely, and you might see it moving as the black powder is actually a seething mass of tiny jumping insects - snow fleas.
Actually, snow fleas are not really fleas, or even related to fleas. Snow fleas are springtails, in the Order Collembola. World-wide there are 2,000 species of springtails and in North America, about 350. Nobody knows for sure, since scientists believe there are many undiscovered species. Most are not as easy to spot as snow fleas because they live in the upper surface of the soil "litter."
Springtails feed on bacteria and fungi. When you see them on the snow, they may be eating algae, bacteria, and fungi on the snow's surface, and also mating. They lay their eggs on leaf litter. The young hatch later in the spring, they are pinkish and less than a millimeter in length. They are mature by the following November.
Springtails don't use legs to jump. They have an abdominal appendage known as a furcula that is attached near the bottom rear. Its forked tip is aimed toward the front of the insect and catches on the lip of the third abdominal segment. Muscles contract and extend the appendage. Tension builds up until it suddenly slips out of the lip of the abdominal segment and the insect is propelled into the air. the movement is random rather than controlled. Springtails can also crawl a little.
Springtails don't use legs to jump. They have an abdominal appendage known as a furcula that is attached near the bottom rear. Its forked tip is aimed toward the front of the insect and catches on the lip of the third abdominal segment. Muscles contract and extend the appendage. Tension builds up until it suddenly slips out of the lip of the abdominal segment and the insect is propelled into the air. the movement is random rather than controlled. Springtails can also crawl a little.
Thousands fit on the tips of two fingers.
Snow fleas don't bite, don't eat crops, don't cause human or animal diseases, and have no interest in entering your home. They play an important role in decomposing dead plants. They are hard to examine without a lens. If you take the time to do that, you will discover they have two antennae, several eyes, and mouth parts hidden in a pouch.
About 10 years ago, scientists discovered a protein that serves as antifreeze in snow fleas. Other creatures have natural types of antifreeze, but the snow flea's protein appears to be unique in that it decomposes at higher temperatures. Such a protein might be useful in preserving human organs for transplants. It might allow the organ to be stored at a lower temperature, then the protein decomposes after the surgery, as the patient warmed up. This would remove the protein from the patient's system and reduce the likelihood of the patient's system forming antibodies. Researchers also think the snow flea's antifreeze protein could be used to increase frost resistance in plants, and inhibit crystallization in frozen foods.
About 10 years ago, scientists discovered a protein that serves as antifreeze in snow fleas. Other creatures have natural types of antifreeze, but the snow flea's protein appears to be unique in that it decomposes at higher temperatures. Such a protein might be useful in preserving human organs for transplants. It might allow the organ to be stored at a lower temperature, then the protein decomposes after the surgery, as the patient warmed up. This would remove the protein from the patient's system and reduce the likelihood of the patient's system forming antibodies. Researchers also think the snow flea's antifreeze protein could be used to increase frost resistance in plants, and inhibit crystallization in frozen foods.