A small south facing patch of snow next to the moon garden
looks as if someone has sprinkled pepper upon it. The springtails have emerged as
if on cue to the warming sun and retreating snow.
There are myriads of them, jumping about so slightly that it
is difficult to notice from several feet away. Yet up close, they are a frenzy
of activity as each tiny springtail explodes forth, moving no more than a
fraction of an inch on the snow surface.
Yesterday, I didn’t notice their arrival, though the
conditions were decidedly less warm and the cloud cover predominant. Sometime
today, they emerged from adjacent ground, exposed by the warmth, to jump
outward onto the snow.
They are small harbingers of our coming spring, these small
insects that serve to forage the detritus of last year’s leaf litter. They are
known as Collembola, but the familiar
name more aptly describes their curious behavior.
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