Nick Baker takes a look at one of our toughest and fascinating winter insects, the snow flea <\/p>
There I was, in December \u2013 I had pulled over in a patch of heathy woodland to answer a call of nature when I caught sight of movement on the ground by my feet. It was winter \u2013 what could it be?<\/p>\n
On closer inspection, I realised I had found my first (and, to date, only) snow fleas, Boreus hyemalis<\/i>. The frigid winter months are not known for entomological exuberance. Wings are a \u2018no-no\u2019, unless you\u2019re the toughest of midges or moths. That\u2019s probably why the snow flea, one of our most bizarre insects, is wingless.<\/p>\nWhat is a snow flea?<\/h2>\n
Despite its name, it isn\u2019t a flea or a fly. It belongs to the scorpion flies, a group of insects, mostly denizens of summer hedgerows. Britain has three other species of scorpion fly, all bedecked with picture-frame wings. The males possess a curious swollen genital capsule, which is held
The snow flea lacks pretty wings or outwardly distinctive genitals. But it has the other diagnostic feature of this family of insects \u2013 a long \u2018face\u2019. In reality, this is an elongated rostrum, or beak, with mouthparts at the tip.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> A fly that can\u2019t fly sounds like an oxymoron. Yet it doesn\u2019t stop the snow flea getting about, which it does by walking or by jumping up to 5cm in a single bound. Though it has no obvious external adaptations for the saltatorial task of leaping, the snow flea does have long legs and the use of an elastic protein called resilin.<\/p>\n This acts like an internal catapult and is the same stuff that gives actual fleas their bounce \u2013 together with snow fleas\u2019 small size (around 5mm), it explains at least part of the common name.<\/p>\n The rest of the moniker probably refers to the fact that the species is usually noticed against snow. These insects live mainly in mossy subnivean (below the snow) habitats, occasionally gathering on the surface. They don\u2019t need snow but they do best in regions with harsh winters.<\/p>\n As insects, they are ectothermic (cold-blooded), so cannot generate body heat. Rather than be at the mercy of the cold and its cell-rupturing ice crystals, they have the ability to supercool. They lower the freezing point of fluids in their cells, using special proteins and polyhydric alcohols, so that ice crystals don\u2019t form. Being active in cold conditions is worth it \u2013 there is less risk \u00a0<\/p>\n The pair I had disturbed were pretty much the only things moving in the frozen landscape, so got my full attention, but I noticed something odd. The female \u2013 <\/span>easily recognised by her long ovipositor (egg-laying tube), <\/span>which gives her abdomen a sharp point \u2013 was on the backof the male.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0It\u2019s not strictly true that male snow fleas have no wings \u2013 they are reduced to strange, spine-like projections \u2013 and this male was busy using his like a large pair of sexual tongs. He had rotated them behind his thorax, and clamped them about the head capsule of the female, holding her in position for mating.<\/p>\n These amazing little insects are an entomological highlight of winter, for those determined enough to look.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n Nick Baker takes a look at one of our toughest and fascinating winter insects, the snow flea <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25163,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/03\/what-is-a-snow-flea-and-just-how-does-it-survive-winter-scaled.jpg",2409,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/03\/what-is-a-snow-flea-and-just-how-does-it-survive-winter-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/03\/what-is-a-snow-flea-and-just-how-does-it-survive-winter-282x300.jpg",282,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/03\/what-is-a-snow-flea-and-just-how-does-it-survive-winter-768x816.jpg",768,816,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/03\/what-is-a-snow-flea-and-just-how-does-it-survive-winter-964x1024.jpg",800,850,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/03\/what-is-a-snow-flea-and-just-how-does-it-survive-winter-1446x1536.jpg",1446,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/03\/what-is-a-snow-flea-and-just-how-does-it-survive-winter-1928x2048.jpg",1928,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Nick Baker takes a look at one of our toughest and fascinating winter insects, the snow flea","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25162"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
How does the snow fly get around, if it can\u2019t fly?<\/h2>\n
Why are snow fleas called fleas?<\/h2>\n
How do snow fleas cope with the cold weather?<\/h2>\n
How do snow fleas mate?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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