Billions Of Snow Fleas Cover The Forest Floor

Snow fleas are an interesting winter creature. They are from the family of spring tails, which are tiny insects that jump into the air making them look a lot life common fleas. But that is where the similarities stop.

I first discovered snow fleas while hiking one day in Upstate New York with a friend. When we stopped for lunch and sat down on a snow bank, we found millions of tiny little flea looking things jumping around us. They especially filled our recent footprints in the snow. They seemed to be hopping around and trying to get closer to us. This sort of scared us and we promptly left.

When I got home that day I looked up "snow fleas" on Google and found that this is exactly what they are called.

They look much like fleas and jump like normal fleas. But they are not in any way related to them. These are tiny insects that live in the cold of winter and love the snow.

They eat bacteria, fungi, algae and other small things. Snow fleas are a sort of forest vacuum cleaner that eat up rotting debris from the forest floor. They are actually beneficial insects.

Snow fleas have a sort of antifreeze in their bodies allowing them to enjoy hopping around in the winter snow.

I find these little creatures so interesting. They are fun to watch. And there numbers are mind blowing.

There must be billions of snow fleas all over the snow covering the forest floor. Literally everywhere I look, they can be found in abundance throughout the forest.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of winter fun.

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