''Boreus'' is the most diverse of three genera of
insects
Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Boreidae
Boreidae, commonly called snow scorpionflies, or in the British Isles, snow fleas (no relation to the snow flea ''Hypogastrura nivicola'') are a very small family of Scorpionfly, scorpionflies, containing only around 30 species, all of which are ...
. They are commonly known as winter scorpionflies due to their close relation to the true
scorpionflies
Mecoptera (from the Greek language, Greek: ''mecos'' = "long", ''ptera'' = "wings") is an Order (biology), order of insects in the superorder Holometabola with about six hundred species in nine Family (biology), families worldwide. Mecopterans a ...
and preference for cold habitats.
Description and distribution
Species of ''Boreus'' are dark in color, 3 to 5 mm long, and have reduced, non-functional wings. In males, the wings resemble straps, while in females they are short stubs. Females also have a pointed
ovipositor
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...
. Both sexes have an elongated head, or rostrum. Larvae are
grublike, mostly hairless and lacking prolegs.
They have a
holarctic
The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...
distribution and are found in
boreal
Boreal, northern, of the north. Derived from the name of the god of the north wind from Ancient Greek civilisation, Boreas (god), Boreas. It may also refer to:
Climatology and geography
*Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernand ...
and high altitude habitats.
Biology

''Boreus'' species are highly adapted to cold environments and often found on the surface of snow. Although they cannot fly, they have the ability to hop or jump. All species are known to feed on
mosses
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...
, both as adults and larvae. Males use their hardened wing straps to grasp the female and lift her above their back during mating.
Species
These 27 species belong to the genus ''Boreus'':
* ''
Boreus beybienkoi''
Tarbinsky, 1962 i c g
* ''
Boreus bomari''
Byers and Shaw, 2000 i c g
* ''
Boreus borealis''
Banks, 1923 i c g
* ''
Boreus brumalis''
Fitch, 1847 i c g b (mid-winter boreus)
* ''
Boreus californicus''
Packard, 1870 i c g b
* ''
Boreus chagzhigireji''
Pliginsky, 1914 i c g
* ''
Boreus coloradensis''
Byers, 1955 i c g b
* ''
Boreus elegans
''Boreus elegans'' is a species of snow scorpionfly in the family Boreidae
Boreidae, commonly called snow scorpionflies, or in the British Isles, snow fleas (no relation to the snow flea ''Hypogastrura nivicola'') are a very small family of Sc ...
''
Carpenter, 1935 i c g b
* ''
Boreus hyemalis
''Boreus hyemalis'' is an insect, 3 to 4.5 millimetres long from the family of ''Boreidae''. Its common name is snow scorpionfly, also known in Britain as the snow flea.
It has stubby, grey-brown wings with a metallic sheen. Snow fleas crawl or ...
''
(Linnaeus, 1767) i c g
* ''
Boreus insulanus''
Blades, 2002 i c g b
* ''
Boreus intermedius
''Boreus'' is the most diverse of three genera of insects in the family Boreidae. They are commonly known as winter scorpionflies due to their close relation to the true scorpionflies and preference for cold habitats.
Description and distribut ...
''
Lloyd, 1934 i c g
* ''
Boreus jacutensis''
Plutenko, 1984 i c g
* ''
Boreus jezoensis''
Hori and Morimoto, 1996 i c g
* ''
Boreus kratochvili''
Mayer, 1938 i c g
* ''
Boreus lokayi''
Klapálek, 1901 i c g
* ''
Boreus navasi''
Pliginsky, 1914 i c g
* ''
Boreus nivoriundus''
Fitch, 1847 i c g b (snow-born boreus)
* ''
Boreus nix''
Carpenter, 1935 i c g b
* ''
Boreus orientalis''
Martynova, 1954 i c g
* ''
Boreus pilosus''
Carpenter, 1935 i c g
* ''
Boreus reductus''
Carpenter, 1933 i c g
* ''
Boreus semenovi''
Pliginsky, 1930 i c g
* ''
Boreus sjostedti''
Navás, 1926 i c g
* ''
Boreus tardokijanensis''
Plutenko, 1985 i c g
* ''
Boreus unicolor''
Hine g
* ''
Boreus vlasovi''
Martynova, 1954 i c g
* ''
Boreus westwoodi''
Hagen, 1866 i c g
Data sources: i = ITIS,[ c = Catalogue of Life,][ g = GBIF,][ b = Bugguide.net]
References
External links
* Photos a
Bugguide* DNA barcodes a
BOLD
{{Taxonbar, from=Q893511
Snow scorpionflies