The photo was taken on March 21 in the Lipetsk region. Found by accident, the snow is covered with a black film of millions of these flea beetles (body length about 1 mm). At the same time, they are very active, constantly jumping, moving, digging into the snow.

Six-legged wingless insects of the springtail order (Collembola) - tiny "snow" fleas that survive in the snow without any problems, owe their increased cold resistance to a unique "antifreeze" that protects their tissues from the damaging effects of negative temperatures and significantly - by six degrees Celsius lowers the freezing point liquids.

In early spring, many insects appear on the surface of the snow in the taiga. Springtails appear to the eye so amicably and in such quantity that they involuntarily attract attention and arouse constant interest. They are compared to a thin blackish film or black coal dust that covered the snow. Speaking about their numbers, most often they use such expressions as "myriads", "in innumerable numbers", "in an incredibly huge number." And this is true. They are called springtails, podura, snow fleas, as well as glacial, or glacier, fleas and even jumping tails.

Springtails are extreme cosmopolitans. D. Meyer discovered the springtail in Antarctica.
In the northern Baikal region, springtails emerge on the snow surface at the end of the first or second ten days of March, and on April 5-10 they already disappear, returning to the forest floor. Springtails usually appear in warm weather, when the first crusts form. However, the temperature factor is not the signal to "whistle everyone upstairs", since the temperature on the soil surface at this time is the same as in the dead of winter.

Snow fleas can be observed already early in the morning, from eight o'clock, but they become especially numerous a little later. They disappear between seventeen and nineteen hours, depending on the weather. Those insects that do not have time to go into the litter in time freeze and die, as they are not able to penetrate the dense crust of the evening crust.

On one square meter of the snow surface, there are from 500 to 1000 snow fleas. It is easy to calculate: about a billion of them pour out on every square kilometer of the taiga. The biological meaning of this phenomenon, as far as we know, has not yet been unraveled.

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Unique antifreeze protein found by chance in tiny glacier or "snow" fleas,can help preserve donor organs and perishable foods.

Tiny "snow" fleas, surviving without any problems in mountain snows, owe their increased cold resistance to a unique "antifreeze" that protects their tissues from the damaging effects of freezing temperatures.

Six-legged wingless insects of the springtail order (Collembola) live on the snow and ice covers of the mountains. A special protein allows the springtail to exist in such conditions, which significantly - by six degrees Celsius - lowers the freezing point of the liquid. Biochemists from the Queen's University of Canada (Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario), using the detected chemical affinity of this protein with water ice, were able to isolate it in its pure form, the university said in a press release.

It turned out that in its composition and chemical properties, this “antifreeze” differs markedly from a similar protein found earlier in other insects, such as beetles and butterflies. Its composition is dominated by an amino acid, but the most interesting feature is that the "antifreeze" springtails breaks down when the temperature rises.

It is this property that promises a new "antifreeze" series useful applications in agriculture and medicine. For example, in order to slow down the processes of decomposition of donor organs, during storage and transportation they are cooled to a temperature close to freezing. If this temperature could be lowered, the shelf life would be extended accordingly. It is dangerous to use foreign proteins for this, as they can cause rejection during transplantation. However, the protein of the "snow" springtail will break down by itself when the organ is warmed up before starting the operation.

This property can also be useful when storing meat products. Another attractive possibility is to introduce the gene encoding this protein into the plant genome to produce varieties that are more resistant to frost.

According to Laurie Graham, one of the authors of the work published in the journal Science, she became interested in these insects by chance while skiing. Insects, resembling black pepper balls scattered over the snow, remained active and jumped tens of centimeters, despite the low temperature.

It remains only to add that such discoveries, which happened not where they were expected, and as if by chance, are usually called serendipal. Read more about serendipal discoveries in Sergey Popov's article.

In early February, communal services of the Leninsky and Aleksinsky districts began to receive calls from very frightened residents.

They noticed that near their houses in an incredibly large number, right in the snow, hordes of unknown insects settled. The fact that these insects were quietly swarming in the snow, despite the negative temperature, only added to the anxiety of the Tula people, and the fact that the insects were crawling and were about to approach the houses of local residents almost caused a real panic.

Since no one knew where these insects came from, what they eat and whether they are dangerous, this case aroused great interest not only among the local residents themselves, but also among Internet users in other regions of Russia, who managed to watch many videos and photos of the unexpected invasion insects. A variety of assumptions were made, up to the appearance of some new type or testing of biological weapons. All this did not set the local residents in a positive mood, and the situation threatened to turn into a real disaster.

However, Rosselkhoznadzor, as it turned out, was already aware of the problem and was actively working on mechanisms to respond to the situation. Despite the fact that the specialists of the state structure could not answer the citizens what these insects were, they assured that samples had already been taken and all the necessary analyzes were being carried out to determine what the Tula people had to face.

Who is it really?

The residents of the city received an unexpected answer from an ordinary employee of the Tula regional exotarium, where many species of various exotic animals are collected. Accordingly, the specialists working in this institution are much better versed in insects than even many employees of the Rosselkhoznadzor. So, Alexei Yesyunin said that these are just harmless snow fleas, which, in fact, have always lived in the Tula region and on the territory of Russia.

The correct name for such insects is springtails, or, even more scientifically, springtails. They are very different from their counterparts in origin in that they are one of the few insect species that calmly endure negative temperatures. Even in severe frosts, they can maintain very high mobility and even jump high. Nevertheless, despite the similarity to ordinary fleas in the name, springtails are absolutely harmless to humans and the economy. Snow fleas feed only on dead plants and bacteria that provide decay, and they do not attack a person and cannot bite through his skin even if they were going to do this.

A large number of these insects is ensured by the fact that they always live in compact mass aggregations. In summer, they almost always live in the thickness of the soil, and in winter they can occasionally appear on the surface, in case of flooding - this is exactly what happened shortly before the invasion. Several days of positive temperatures led to a fair amount of snow melting, which eventually led to the flooding of the earth, from where the escaping snow fleas crawled out.

Therefore, Tula residents should not worry, but it would be even better to be glad - springtails are one of the most popular scientific indicators of environmental pollution of the soil - they live only in places with very good ecology.

Larisa Panina

Not so long ago, information appeared in the media that the Tula region was attacked by unknown and mysterious insects - snow fleas. They live right in the snow and move impressive distances. Residents are frightened by such an unexpected invasion, they are afraid that these insects can enter houses and pose a danger to people. And is it really so?

What are these unusual insects?

So what are the snow fleas, the invasion of which has recently hit the Tula region? In fact, snow fleas have little in common with ordinary fleas that settle in the fur of animals and feed on their blood. Yes, they are similar in appearance, but this is perhaps the only similarity. Otherwise, everything is completely different.

So, a snowy or, as it is called in scientific language, a glacial flea is an insect that belongs to the springtail family and the bristletail order. An adult can reach a length of only 1.5-2.5, that is, such insects are very difficult to notice. But in the Tula region, these fleas were seen almost immediately, as they gathered in fairly large flocks. The body color is usually black, and for this reason, accumulations of insects in the snow are quickly detected. The chitinous shell is covered with peculiar bristles, there are only six paws (three closely spaced pairs). On the head there are antennae that help to navigate in space and find food.

Lifestyle

The living conditions of snow fleas are very unusual, and this is confirmed by the fact that in the Tula region they were found precisely in the winter. In general, low temperature indicators are optimal and most favorable for such insects. They feel great at temperatures from -10 to 10 degrees. And this is explained by the fact that from various sugars obtained from food and the environment, the snow flea produces special substances that have the properties of a certain antifreeze. They prevent a decrease in body temperature and freezing.

At lower temperatures, such fleas fall into a state of deep sleep, in which all important processes slow down, which allows them to spend almost no energy (this happens with some other insects and even animals). And higher rates are detrimental. For example, already at 12 degrees, snow fleas can die, and therefore, when the temperature rises to such levels, representatives of this family begin to dig into the ground in order to wait out this dangerous period, and then become active again in winter or early spring.

As for the habitat, glacier fleas were found for the first time on glaciers. But they can also live in regions with a milder climate. And yet, a prerequisite for their full-fledged life is the presence of winter and thaws. In addition, more often they settle near water bodies, because the ground near them is usually colder than in dry areas. By the way, representatives of this family breed precisely in the winter, laying their eggs (by the way, they have an orange tint) right in the snow or even in the ice.

Food

What do glacial fleas feed on, the invasion of which recently hit the Tula region and Tula? Exclusively biological products, for example, algae, the remains of rotten or still growing plants, cryonite (it is a mixture of soil particles, leaf remains, coniferous pollen, and other organic components). In general, these insects are completely herbivorous in terms of nutrition and do not depend on living beings.

Actual news

In early February 2016, many media reported that residents of the Tula region were very worried. And the main reason for this is the invasion of hitherto unknown insects. They are small and black, and also have the ability to jump quite high (about 15-25 centimeters). And for this, the Tula people called them "snow fleas." They literally filled the snow ruts and roadsides in the forest zone. Moreover, such insects began to move towards several settlements, which frightened the inhabitants of the city and the region even more.

Concerned Tula residents turned to Rospotrebnadzor with complaints. Department staff responded to the request and immediately took several individuals for research. As a result, it turned out that experts are dealing with glacier fleas or the so-called springtails.

But what is the reason for such an invasion of the region? As explained by Russian entomologists (scientists specializing in insects), it's all about the thaw, which came after frost and dragged on for a long period of time, provoking early thawing of the soil. Insects have begun to emerge en masse from their sleep state and will spread to nearby areas in search of food. But scientists also noted that glacier fleas lived in these places almost always, they just usually hid or became active in a few colonies, and not in such volumes.

Is there a real threat?

So is there still cause for concern in Tula and other cities where glacier fleas are also likely to show up due to weather surprises? Absolutely not.

There were several reasons for concern, and each of them is nothing more than a myth. Here are the most common fears and their rebuttals:

• The snow flea is dangerous to humans. No, it's not. Firstly, such an insect does not bite and, in general, does not contact people and other warm-blooded creatures, and secondly, it is not a carrier of any diseases.
• Such insects are dangerous for animals. No, animals also do not attract snow fleas either as a habitat or as a source of food. Glacier fleas live and feed in the ground.
• These fleas can enter apartments and houses. No, they live exclusively in wild nature, and at elevated temperatures, due to the peculiarities of the functioning of the body, they quickly die.
• Insects can destroy crops. Crops also do not interest them at all, they feed on organic and biological residues and usually do not move away from water bodies or swampy areas, as they need cool and moist soil.
• Glacier fleas will continue to breed and fill all the forests. And this is also impossible, because very soon, namely in the spring, when the temperature rises to 10-15 degrees, they will go into the ground and will not be shown until next winter.

It can be concluded that the snow flea is a long-existing insect that previously remained “in the shadows”. But it does not pose any threat, so you should relax and live in peace.