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Snow Flea

Published on Project Noah
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45.7792, -84.747

Field Notes

Description:

Actually an arachnid that comes out in the very early spring, and feeds on microscopic organisms. They look like tiny flecks of dirt on the snow.

Habitat:

Snow?

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (2)
KarenL
How interesting! Please can you update the spotting (in edit) with the info that drP has provided. Welcome to the community!
drP
Wow. Thanks for posting this. The last time I looked it up, snow fleas were classified as insects, order collembola (springtails). According to various Web resources, the collembola are no longer considered insects, but are in a separate group with some other lesser-known hexapods (diplurans and protrurans, which I also thought were still insects). The basis for the separation is due to the lack of external mouthparts (which all hexapods currently classified as insects have) and, more definitively, differences in DNA sequences. So, neither arachnid nor insect, this critter is something else entirely. Gotta love it!

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Photographed
PublishedMarch 28, 2013

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