Snow scorpionfly

Boreus brumalis

FAMILY

Boreidae

TAXONOMY

Boreus brumalis Fitch, 1847, eastern New York, United States.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Small, dark brown, and compactly built. Males have narrow wings, about half as long as the abdomen, hooked downward and with many spines. Female wings are reduced to tiny pads.

DISTRIBUTION

Northeastern North America.

HABITAT

Larvae live inside clumps of moss growing among rocks or on loamy soil. Adults are found on rocks, soil, snow, and ice near the larval habitat.

BEHAVIOR

Adults are active in fall and winter. Activity at low temperatures is made possible by a substance in the blood that acts like antifreeze. Larvae are scarabaeiform and can be found any time of year within mosses.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Larvae and adults feed on mosses.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

The male leaps, grasping an appendage of the female with the claspers at the tip of his abdomen. The male then maneuvers the female onto his back and holds her in place with his hook-like wings. Copulation lasts from one to 12 hours. The female deposits eggs into moss singly or in small clutches. The life cycle probably takes two years.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.