Look carefully, you never know what you are walking over!
While hiking on a trail after sampling some fresh maple syrup at
Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury I looked down at what I thought were specs of dirt on the snow. However, on closer examination I noticed 'they' were jumping (must not be dirt). Quite a shock to me as I have never seen this phenomena before. I recorded a video (above) although it is hard to see the critters jumping.
Back home I did some internet searching and discovered they are a type of insect known as a
Springtail (they are nicknamed snow fleas although they are not fleas at all). I also discovered they very helpful for soil and are found on every continent.
I have attached a close-up from
science perspective website of what they look like.
