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Bugs seen only in Winter snow
Hello Bugman,
My son is very interested in identifying a bug that we see each winter in the snow. I have attached two pictures – one against a ruler. The insect has 6 legs, two long antenna and two things off the back (two tails?). It’s approx. 1/2 inch in length. Please help!
Thanks – Kevin and Stephen Crowley

Dear Crowleys,
We are always very excited to get new species for our site, but even more excited to get new families. This is a type of Stonefly, Order Plecoptera, known as the Snowfly or Winter Stonefly, Family Capniidae, probably the genus Allocapnia. We located photos on Bugguide, but there wasn’t much information, so we decided to search further. Sadly our search was in vain as there seem to be photos and maps, but not much in the way of text. If you find any additional links, perhaps you can contact us with the information.

I found a website with some further information on stoneflies. I hope this helps.
Yvonne

Related Posts

1. Snowfly: A Winter Stonefly (March 15, 2008)
2. Winter Stonefly or Snowfly (February 10, 2008)
3. Snowfly (December 20, 2006)
4. Giant Stonefly (September 17, 2005)
5. Wingless Winter Crane Fly or Snow Fly (December 30, 2008)