[NatureNS] snow fleas (probably Boreus, Mecoptera)

From: nhungjohn <nhungjohn@eastlink.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
References: <40BF1D02C17344EAA835FB8AD3492BB7@KEN>
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:43:50 -0400
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <naturens-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
Original-Recipient: rfc822;"| (cd /csuite/info/Environment/FNSN/MList; /csuite/lib/arch2html)"

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects

Index of Subjects
To:  all

From:  John Sollows

Date: Feb. 17/10

I haven't noriced any snow jumpers, but yesterday at our place on the Wyman 
Road, near Yarmouth, fine weather and 5 degrees, an insect flew by. Some 
sort of midge?

This IS the banana belt, although with 30-odd cm. of snow down today, you 
would never know it!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Anne Mills" <ocotillo@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 8:43 PM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] snow fleas (probably Boreus, Mecoptera)


> When I was teaching Terrestrial Diversity in the Biology Department at 
> Dal., I always had a sample of the wingless insects on display in the lab 
> for the students. Andrew identified them correctly as Collembola but I 
> will add here that they are from one of 5 groups (orders) of "wingless 
> insects" (subclass Apterygota) that we studied. The Collembola are the 
> springtails or snowfleas that one sees on pond surfaces or streams at this 
> time of the year. I used to see them often at the Hd. of St. Margaret's 
> Bay up in the woods either on the trail or at the edge of the stream 
> running down the hill. They come in various colours - black, rust, bright 
> yellow and blue! although I have not seen the latter two colours. If you 
> find a largish cluster of them on the snow put your ear to them and you'll 
> hear little click clicks as they jump.
>
> Anne Mills
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Joan Czapalay" <joancz@ns.sympatico.ca>
> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 6:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] snow fleas (probably Boreus, Mecoptera)
>
>
>> We used to see them a lot around the shady side of the school in Port La 
>> Tour, Shel. Co.. I had someone from DRN identify them as "snow fleas" for 
>> our outdoor nature class, but don't remember the scientific name. Seems 
>> we always saw them on an unusually mild day in Feb/early March. Cheers, 
>> Joan
>>
>> Stephen Shaw wrote:
>>> Has anyone into winter hiking come across these, snow fleas (Mecoptera =
>>> scorpionflies)?
>>> They are expected to be black or brown, about 3 mm long, flightless 
>>> (vestigial
>>> wings), come out on to the snow surface in the day in winter, and can 
>>> jump. They have been photo'd from early December through mid February on
>>> Bugguide.net, in places like New Hampshire and Ontario.  The species 
>>> featured
>>> on Bugguide are mostly Boreus brumalis and Boreus nivoriundus.
>>>
>>> A colleague from Cambridge, Malcolm Burrows, who visited here a couple 
>>> of years
>>> ago to work on jumping mecahnisms in true bugs, is coming back again 
>>> later this
>>> year.  He is the expert on the mechanics of insect jumps and has just 
>>> asked me
>>> if any species of Boreus is found here.  Has anyone seen any jumping 
>>> critter
>>> like this somewhere in N.S., and if so at what sort of date?
>>> Thanks,
>>> Steve
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
> 

next message in archive
no next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects