Is it just me, or can other people smell the Hypogastrura nivicola when they are out on the snow in the winter. I am in southeastern British Columbia and on warm days when the snowfleas come up from the soil there is a very noticeable odour when you get down and look at them.
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I see your snow fleas are Collembola. In Europe, snow fleas are Mecoptera.
If it is a rise in temperature which prompts Hypogastrura to come up from the soil, it might be other life gearing up in the soil that you can smell.
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Good point!
I suppose one way to tell would be to gently put some snow fleas in a container, sniff the air from that container, and see if it had this odor more strongly than the ambient air.
The study shows that the earthy smell, geosmin, attracts springtails (Collembola), primitive insect-like organisms that are found on all continents.
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/story-behind-earthy-smell-spring
In the soil, geosmin production is attributed to a single genus of bacteria, called Streptomyces. These are soil-dwelling bacteria which, when faced with unfavourable conditions grow spores (see photo) which can be dispersed to new, more favourable conditions, enabling the bacteria to survive.
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I found a post by someone else referencing the smell as well: https://hardtocomebylifestyle.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/snow-fleas-hypogastrura-nivicola/
Sadly I don’t think we have this species in my area or I’d go sniff some for science. I guess I could try with the closest-related ones we do have.
If you see a medical journal article about someone having to have springtails removed from their sinuses, it’ll be your fault. :P
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I think it is more likely pheromones from the Collembola. They are know to communicate that way and they will come up in mid-winter on warm days, when all the soil is still covered with half a metre of snow. The smell is noticeable then as well.