Chionea

Moved

… Ken Wolgemuth, 4 December, 2020 - 5:48pm

Very nice!

Correct that these are Chionea (not that there's really anything they can be confused with.) Excellent find!

If you have Gimp (which is free) or Photoshop, you may want to crop this so the insects are in the middle of the frame. That would also allow the image to capture more detail.

I'm hoping I can find some here in NH but we've had very little snow and right now the ground is wet and bare (but cold).

By any chance, what was the habitat like where you found these?

… Jonas Insinga, 4 December, 2020 - 4:10pm

Chionea

They were in a fairly mesic mixed coniferous forest.

In my experience Chionea are often one of the most abundant and common snow insects around. The closest to you I've seen them was in Florence county, Wisconsin. I always see them at night, just walking around on the snow. They seem to be active when it's cold, but not too cold, around 25-33 F. I've always found them in various types of forests.

… Samuel DeGrey, 4 December, 2020 - 4:47pm

Thanks for the details!

Ah, good to know. I've not spent much time out around woodlands in winter at night, so that may explain why I've never encountered these before. It wasn't until I figured out how to look for them that I ever encountered boreids (which I've subsequently encountered two species of), so I presume it'll the same with Chionea. Thanks for the insight! :)

… Jonas Insinga, 4 December, 2020 - 6:10pm

No prob

Yeah I've seen boreids several times too, but I never see them abundantly. It's always like a single individual just chilling by itself not doing anything. So weird. Good luck Chionea hunting.

… Samuel DeGrey, 4 December, 2020 - 6:15pm