[CC]

Does anybody know why there are so many of what I assume are these guys http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/snow_flea.htm this year? They are all over the place in the Stevens Pass area. In 20 years up here I never noticed them, although obviously they would be easy to miss when not as numerous ; they are only about 1 mm long. At first I thought they were specs of pollution. but specs of carbon don't normally spontaneously jump a foot in the air. They are not just near trees, but also out in the open meadows, basically everywhere. Other people skiing @ Nordic center were commenting on them. They are even on top of the snow immediately after a snow squall, on top of a 5' snowpack. It's almost like they a coming down with the precip, although that obviously that isn't what's happening. Have people noticed them at other places? Again, why the deluge of them this year that makes them so obvious?

102

[Malachai Constant]

Yes they are springtails also called pepper bugs. They gather this time of the year and and make bluish gray patches on the ground that look like a bunch of spilled pepper. They are harmless.

[Schenk]

I have seen these since I was young, usually about the same time I begin to notice pink snow mold. I would speculate that the timing and the weather are just right for them to all come out at once. They are pretty good at getting around up and through porous snow.

[boot up]

I like to think of these when someone tells me it's ok to just scoop up and drink snow without filtering. Protein I suppose?

[kbatku]

Q: Is there a danger posed by drinking pink snow water?

[boot up]

[gb]

Don't know about pink snow this time of year. But the red algae that forms on the snow surface in late spring to early summer is supposed to have toxins. When I obtain water, snow to melt in the spring I am careful where I get it from.

[meandering Wa]

watermelon snow ( algae) feeds the micro bugs, including springtails which in turn support Gray-crowned Rosy Finch and other small birds there is nothing about Chlamydomonas nivaslis dangers, but they are algae and like all algae, digestive upset is certainly possible.