Boreidae, commonly called snow scorpionflies, or in the British Isles, snow fleas (no relation to the snow flea Hypogastrura nivicola) are a very small family of scorpionflies, containing only around 30 species, all of which are boreal or high-altitude species in the Northern Hemisphere.
These insects are small (typically 6 mm or less), with the wings reduced to bristles or absent, and they are somewhat compressed, so in fact some resemblance to fleas is noted. They are most commonly active during the winter months, towards the transition into spring, and the larvae and adults typically feed on mosses. The adults will often disperse between breeding areas by walking across the open snow, thus the common name. The males use their bristle-like wings to help grasp the female over their backs while mating, while the wings of females are vestigial small oval pads with no ability to allow them to fly. The adults have a long rostrum formed from the clypeus and labrum, genae, and maxillo-labium.
The body temperature, and therefore activity level, of this scorpionfly depends on its absorption of short-wave and long-wave radiation rather than surrounding air temperatures (by which it is completely unaffected). The boundary layer of snow that the insect occupies has very low thermal conductance, and so the insect loses its own heat very slowly here. This delicate balance between cold and heat means that the animal is easily killed by heat when held in a human hand.[1]
The group has been proposed in some studies to be the closest relatives of fleas (Siphonaptera), rendering Mecoptera paraphyletic. This has been disputed by other studies, which find Nannochoristidae more closely related to fleas instead.[2]
^Daniel Marlos (2010-10-05). The Curious World of Bugs: The Bugman's Guide to the Mysterious and Remarkable Lives of Things That Crawl. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-101-44406-1.
^Tihelka, Erik; Giacomelli, Mattia; Huang, Di-Ying; Pisani, Davide; Donoghue, Philip C. J.; Cai, Chen-Yang (2020-12-21). "Fleas are parasitic scorpionflies". Palaeoentomology. 3 (6): 641–653–641–653. doi:10.11646/palaeoentomology.3.6.16. hdl:1983/8d3c12c6-529c-4754-b59d-3abf88a32fc9. ISSN 2624-2834. S2CID 234423213.
snowscorpionflies, or in the British Isles, snow fleas (no relation to the snow flea Hypogastrura nivicola) are a very small family of scorpionflies...
of gift prey offered to them by the males. A smaller group is the snowscorpionflies, family Boreidae, adults of which are sometimes seen walking on snowfields...
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where...
family, and Ancient Greek apteros "wingless". Snowscorpionfly (Boreidae), another family of scorpionflies with reduced or no wings Seeman, O.D., Palmer...
Boreus hyemalis, a species of scorpionfly that crawls on snow Hypogastrura nivicola, a species of springtail known as snow flea in North America Several...
earlier suggestion that the Siphonaptera are sister to the Boreidae (snowscorpionflies) is not supported. A 2020 genetic study recovered Siphonaptera within...
Boreus nivoriundus, known generally as the snow-born boreus or snowscorpionfly, is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is found in North...
in habitats as varied as snow, freshwater, the tropics, desert, and even the sea. The snowscorpionfly Boreus hyemalis on snow The great diving beetle...
breaks down easily at higher temperatures. Snowscorpionfly - a group of insects also (Boreidae) known as snow fleas including: Boreus hyemalis John R....
common name is snowscorpionfly, also known in Britain as the snow flea. It has stubby, grey-brown wings with a metallic sheen. Snow fleas crawl or hop...
Fennoscandian arthropods living on and in snow." European Journal of Entomology 107.3 (2010). "Vol 48, No 1 - Scorpionflies, Hangingflies, and other Mecoptera...
Soszyńska-Maj, Agnieszka (January 2012). "A new genus and species of scorpionfly (Mecoptera) from Baltic amber, with an unusually developed postnotal...
Caurinus dectes is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is found in North America. "Caurinus dectes Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information...
Boreus nix is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is found in North America. "Boreus nix Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information...
Boreus elegans is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is found in North America. "Boreus elegans Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information...
Boreus brumalis, the mid-winter boreu, is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is found in North America. "Boreus brumalis Species...
Boreus insulanus is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is endemic to Vancouver Island. "Boreus insulanus Report". Integrated Taxonomic...
Apteropanorpa tasmanica, the Tasmanian snowscorpionfly, is a species of wingless scorpionfly native to Tasmania. The adults are generalised predators...
earlier suggestion that the Siphonaptera are sister to the Boreidae (snowscorpionflies) is not supported; instead, there is the possibility that they are...
Boreus coloradensis is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is found in North America. "Boreus coloradensis Report". Integrated Taxonomic...
Boreus californicus is a species of snowscorpionfly in the family Boreidae. It is found in North America. "Boreus californicus Report". Integrated Taxonomic...
numbers on surfaces during the melt season. Snow flea Boreus hyemalis, also known as the snow flea or snowscorpionfly H. Franz & E. Sertl-Butschek (1954): Ordnung...
S2CID 83279049. Grimaldi, David A.; Michael S., Engel (2013). "The Relict Scorpionfly Family Meropeidae (Mecoptera) in Cretaceous Amber". Journal of the Kansas...
Caurinus is a genus of snowscorpionflies in the family Boreidae. There are at least two described species in Caurinus. These two species belong to the...
Nannochoristidae is a family of scorpionflies with many unusual traits. It is a tiny, relict family with a single extant genus, Nannochorista, with eight...
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