Invertebrates in the early winter

These jumpers - a special kind of springtails, known for leaping on the snow the snow, or snow, a flea. They live on the damp ground and even under the melting snow, feeding on decaying remains of dead plants. During thaws are selected on the snow sometimes such masses that form the dark spots on the white shroud of snow. Here, they jump to a tee, as related to them small white nogohvostiki in flower pots of indoor plants. Usually they occur in early winter - during the December thaws. A close relative of snow fleas - flea glacier - is found on mountain glaciers. Sometimes in the moss, and thaw and the snow come across brilliant greenish-bronze lednichniki. Their characteristic feature - klyuvoobrazno elongated front part of the head. Wings lednichnika underdeveloped and presented only his short appendages such as scales, protruding from the male, adpressed to the body of the female, at the end of the female abdomen rather long ovipositor. Lednichnik small: its length is only 3-4 mm. The snow can also find a very interesting little mosquitoes Hion. Wingless, length only 4-5 mm, na Hion resemble running spiders. One m Hion and entitled: "paukovidnaya. Snow fleas lednichniki, Hion - this winter insect, summer, among them are rarely seen. But a thaw in the snow and get out many other insects: bugs, flies, fungus gnats, gall-fly, wasps, various beetles (ground beetles, rove-korotkonadkryly, beetles) and others. Other small butterflies, flies, wasps, even fly. Crawl through the snow and spiders, harvestmen, wood lice, and even some kinds of earthworms. Particularly prone to small spiders bokohody resembling the appearance and manner of crabs crawl sideways. Here's an interesting problem for the Young Naturalists: to make a collection of small wintering, aroused matured in mid-winter warmth. A living area and a school museum could make an interesting collection of them. The study of these wintering - not empty fun. Indeed, many of them - our enemies, but we should know well the habits of the enemy, to be able to fight them. If insects appear to thaw the snow, so until then they were hiding somewhere. Where were they?. This is the reason to think about. It turns out that many insects overwinter just under the snow, while others burrow into the ground, others are hiding in cracks of tree trunks in tree hollows, under bark of stumps and dead trees. There are those who climb into the empty stems of reeds or "pipes" umbrella plant. In short, the insects are thousands of places where you can take shelter from the cold. One naturalist, carefully examined the farmhouse. Here, under rocks and logs, he found about 1000-wintering insects. Of these, most (918 ind.) Belonged to the order of beetles. Particularly numerous were small ground beetles (222), ground beetles (135), "ladybugs" (80) and shiny beetles, leaf beetles (114). Total found 105 species of different insects.