Who has been sprinkling pepper on the snow surface?!

*Snowfleas. Photo: Alan Eaton, UNH Cooperative Extension*

On the next sunny and warmish winter day keep your eyes open for a sprinkling of black specks on the surface of the snow, or in footprints or ski tracks. It may look like a sprinkle of black pepper, but if you look closely those specks will be moving!

Those specks are likely springtails, sometimes called “snowfleas”, and you may see them by the thousands. Snowfleas are members of a primitive group of insects called Collembola, and are not related to the fleas you might find on your canine or feline family members. The “spring” comes from a folded appendage at the end of their abdomen that helps propel them into the air. While they may spring forward with this appendage, they also have legs for crawling. In winter these critters produce natural antifreeze that helps them survive life below and above the snow surface, even when temps are below freezing.

The black specks are easier to see in winter against the white of snow, but these little critters are all through the leaf litter throughout the year, feeding on fungus, algae, bacteria, rotting plants and dead animals. Think of them as one or the many “sanitation engineers” living in and on the forest floor! You might see them later in spring floating as a mass on meltwater in the forest, or crawling over the surface of a patch of leaves just exposed after the snow has melted.

Next time you are out, take a look. If you have your binoculars with you, they can be used as a magnifying glass: simply turn them backwards, hold the eyepiece close to the springtails, put one eye up close to a lens and look through backwards. Adjust the distance until the springtails are in focus!

How many can you count?

—Lynne Flaccus