Species Boreus nivoriundus - Snow-born Boreus

Boreus nivoriundus Fitch 1847

3-5 mm

Adapted from Asa Fitch's original 1847 description:

head, eyes, antennae black; rostrum brown with black tip; side of thorax black; top of thorax varying from brown to cinnamon except basal half of prothorax black; abdomen varies from black to brown, with terminal segment brown or cinnamon; ovipositor brown or reddish with black tip; rudimentary wings brown or cinnamon; legs yellow or brown with thin black ring at each joint.

B. brumalis (Mid-winter Boreus), the only other eastern species, is colored differently: legs, antennae, eyes, rostrum dull black; abdomen shiny blackish-green with light brown lateral stripes; ovipositor shiny black; rudimentary wings in male brownish-black; in female, the tiny wingpads are barely visible as two minute grayish-black spots on the thorax

NB-QC to NY-OH-TN(1) (probably also occurs in adjacent areas)

on surface of snow, at high elevation in southern part of range

adults found on snow from December to April

Larvae and adults feed on mosses. In New England, utilizes Atrichum spp., Polytrichum commune and P. ohioense moss.(2)

Fitch A. (1847) Winter insects of eastern New York. American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences 5: 274-284.