# The scent of snow fleas **URL:** \ **Category:** Nature Talk\ **Created:** [February 22, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009 "2025-02-22T18:01:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kent34](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/kent34/32/45061_2.png) [@kent34](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/kent34)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009/1 "2025-02-22T18:01:26Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![jhbratton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jhbratton/32/3718_2.png) [@jhbratton](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jhbratton)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009/2 "2025-02-22T21:23:54Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![dlevitis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/dlevitis/32/78796_2.png) [@dlevitis](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/dlevitis)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009/3 "2025-02-22T22:25:29Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiller](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/mmmiller/32/7699_2.png) [@mmmiller](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/mmmiller)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009/4 "2025-02-22T23:28:28Z")
> 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](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. [https://www.jic.ac.uk/blog/meet-the-molecules-geosmin/](https://www.jic.ac.uk/blog/meet-the-molecules-geosmin/) ---
**Author:** ![graysquirrel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/graysquirrel/32/127_2.png) [@graysquirrel](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/graysquirrel)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009/5 "2025-02-23T01:54:43Z")
I found a post by someone else referencing the smell as well: [https://hardtocomebylifestyle.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/snow-fleas-hypogastrura-nivicola/](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 ---
**Author:** ![kent34](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/kent34/32/45061_2.png) [@kent34](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/kent34)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2025, 2:30am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009/6 "2025-02-24T02:30:42Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/7/7831452cf7f0d653ff1ffd34176334b7ef1b6a17.png) [@system](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2025, 2:31am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/the-scent-of-snow-fleas/62009/7 "2025-04-25T02:31:03Z")
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.