Seen yesterday at Grand Ridge. I kept going by these puddles with leopard spots and finally stopped to check one out. The spots are wriggling clumps of insects. Seen in an area that had a fair number of deciduous trees (maples?).
Are these newly hatched from eggs? Are they adults and mating? What are they?
Thanks!
Could be. *does very quick deep dive*
Kind of matches this video.
Here's a short video talking about their life on snow.
They're not really fleas, they're springtails. Snow fleas eat algae on top of snow and have a compound in their blood that allows them to operate at freezing temperatures. That protein is being studied for use in organ transplants and.. ice cream.
Hmm. Maybe these are a snow flea relative? Some springtails are leaf composters.
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