This tiny little insect was found on the snow the other day. He is very much alive.

The little black blob under his wings at the right side is a snowflea (springtail). The snow was covered with gazillions of them!! Snow fleas are NOT fleas at all! They got that common name because they look like fleas and they are found on the snow, but they do not bite!! They belong to the order Collembola and there are a number of species around here, but about 7,000 species worldwide. They are tiny, about 1 mm in size, and you probably wouldn't notice them on the snow unless looking for them. They are smaller than a pepper grain! In this image, you can tell how small they are, because the trichoptera is only about 5mm in length and the springtail is almost hidden by it. For a photo of some other Collembola, closely related, but a bit larger, than the "snow fleas", see: http://www.pbase.com/laroseforest/image/142094463