In Search of Winter Bugs

During the winter months there is not a lot of things to do in the way of bug hunting, but here in Utah there is a special bug that only comes out in the winter. It is called a Snow Flea or Snow
Scorpionfly. They are not fleas, but a very closely related to fleas and are part of a small order of insects. These are a bit rare and can be found only in the winter running around moss and snow. So I went out to find some...

The first trip to Rock Canyon here in Provo, I did not find any, but I did get to see a bighorn sheep.


The second trip I only found one female that we kept alive in the fridge for several weeks. The third trip was a huge success. It was a nice cold and sunny day, that helped. I also went much farther up the canyon.


I finally found lots of them running, and hopping, around on places that look like this, as well as some other snow insects:


This is a photo of a Winter Stonefly:


And these are some the Snow Fleas that I found (a female and a male):

It was a good day and I ended up catching about a dozen. So, even in the snow bugs can still be found.