TINY INSECTS ARE FOUND IN SNOW

We all know the Las Vegas Valley does not get much snow and if we do the snow evaporates quickly.  However, many of us that live in Las Vegas either go up to Mount Charleston for a day of skiing or go on vacation to Vail or Aspen or other snow destinations.

This winter, Postmedia - a Canadian magazine looks at what makes our coldest season tick.   It’s a series they call The Science of Winter where they grabbed a magnifying glass to find out why those tiny black dots on top of the snow are moving! It seems even snow has bugs.  Winter the insect-free season is nothing of the kind – there are a lot of “tiny dark objects moving slowly across the snow.”

On close inspection the writer of the magazine article found several types of spiders, two species of tiny flies, two types of wingless snow flies and a bunch of wingless creatures about five millimeters long called snow scorpions.

On mild winter days, the snow comes alive with mysterious insects. These insects actually live on the ground, but they come up to the surface of the snow, often to reproduce,” the Postmedia article said. “In the case of snow fleas though they come up to feed on algae on the snow, or spores of mosses perhaps. The snow scorpions mate on top of the snow.

On warm days in winter, especially near that freezing point threshold you start to see these little pests on top of the snow.

It’s thought that many crawl up to the surface at the base of a tree, where warmth often creates an opening in the snowpack.

These insects stay active under the snow all winter, protected from freezing by internal antifreeze proteins and by a layer of insulating snow. Winter keeps them warm. None of these bugs of winter will bite you. You’re safe from stinging or biting pests – just wait for spring!

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