On a warm, sunny, late winter day, look closely at the base of a tree, or into a shallow footprint in the snow. You�ll likely find a sprinkling of specks on the surface. If they jump around, they�re snow fleas!
Hi, this is Iain MacLeod from New Hampshire Audubon, bringing you Something Wild.
Snow fleas are not actually fleas, but are tiny insects that come out on warm winter days to eat decayed plant material or sap oozing from trees. They are quite small, measuring only about 1-2 millimeters long, and are usually a dark slate blue color.
Snow fleas use a unique and successful catapult system to get around and to escape danger. Two "tails" on its back end are tucked up underneath the belly, held in place by tiny "hooks." When the flea wants to move, it releases the hooks, and these spring-loaded "tails" hit the snow and launch it in a random direction. That's why snow fleas are also known as springtails.
You can find snow fleas year-round in the forest leaf litter or on the surface of the soil, chomping on bits of rotting vegetation and fungus. But you�ll have to look very closely to see them because they blend in well and are so tiny.
Often, when many snow fleas have gathered together, they are preparing to migrate, probably because the food supply in one area has been exhausted. As many as a million of these insects will move across the ground in a mass that extends below the leaf litter. The migration can take several days, and when it is over, the snow fleas have moved only a few feet.
On a warm winter day, place your hand on top of the snow in an area that is peppered with snow fleas. Before long, they will land on your hand, only to leap away as soon as you move � but don�t worry � they don�t bite!
Something Wild is a joint production of New Hampshire Audubon, New Hampshire Public Radio, and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
For Something Wild, I�m Iain MacLeod.
If you have a natural history question that you would like answered on Something Wild, email us at somethingwild@nhpr.org.
