Spring Tails in Winter

Doing bug walks is an every day thing for me in the spring, summer, and fall, but in the winter (which it technically still is), it's a hit and miss thing. If it's warm enough, I'll do a bug walk, if it's not, I won't. Or in the case of yesterday, I won't because it's pouring rain all day. Today we had some sunshine after a night of violent storming, and the temperature was in the bug-friendly zone, so I went out to look. I didn't find much, but I did find something that I have been looking for for weeks.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Snow flea. It's not really a flea, but a species of springtail. I have been looking for them for a while. Having had very little snow this year, I have been looking for them on tree trunks, and today I finally found them. I am not sure why I have been able to find other species of springtails, but not these, in the last few months, maybe they only show up in late winter. Anyway, I found one on this trunk...

... and then found several on another tree nearby. So, there you have it. No snow, but snow fleas.