Spider, snow fleas out already in December

Spider on snow

Snow fleas, Nolalu, Ontario, Dec. 15, 2012

I once wrote that snow fleas are the first sign of spring . If that is true then we really had a short winter this year as I took this photo of snow fleas today, Dec. 15. There was also a spider out on the snow surface.
The temperature here in Nolalu, ON, has crept up to the melting point, 0 C or 32 F. Apparently that's all it takes to bring out the snow bugs. Nolalu is 50 kilometres or 30 miles southwest of Thunder Bay at the top of Lake Superior.
Snow fleas aren't really fleas, just flea-like creatures called springtails. They look like pepper on the snow surface.
The spider, however, is really a spider. I've noticed that many of the spiders you see in the winter are missing a leg or two. That might be one of the perils of winter insect life, sort of like losing a toe to frostbite for humans.
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