Posts in Creature Feature
Creature Feature: Decomposers

When you think of “creatures,” you might not consider some of the world’s natural demolition crew: fungi, slime molds and soil bacteria. Although they are relatively small and most of their work is completed out of sight, the impact of their work is gigantic. Th rough recycling of organic matter, they guarantee the continuation of life in all of the Earth’s ecosystems.

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Creature Feature: Snow Fleas

The snow flea (Hypogastruna nivicola) is a springtail species that is active in winter and easily seen against white snow. A primitive insect, the snow flea is very small, about 1/10 inch long, and dark blue-gray in color. They have a somewhat plump body and small compound eyes comprised of only eight facets in each. Snow fleas are wingless and are classified as hexapods, which is a subtype of the arthropod family. Like insects, snow fleas have six legs, but researchers say they are more closely related to crustaceans.

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