snow fleas
Winter surface specks
Snow fleas are tiny dark insects that appear on snow surfaces in late winter, looking like scattered pepper or soot.
Despite the name, they're springtails—not true fleas—and don't bite.
They emerge on warm winter days to feed on decaying matter, hopping about using a tail-like appendage: The snow was covered with thousands of snow fleas.
- blackDarkest possible hue
- coldLow temperature state
- cold weatherFrigid atmospheric conditions
- arthropodsJointed-limb invertebrates
- clustersGrouped collections
leaf litter · jumping · cryoprotection · decomposers · winter · tiny · supercooling · detritivores · hopping · sap · thaw · insects · exoskeleton · specks · swarm · March · bark · February
parasitic status
snow fleaslice
Bloodsucking scalp insects
bed bugs · chiggers · ticks · ectoparasites · biting insects