Snow Fleas Eruption

Today was the first time I have seen them so dense that they form a mat, completely covering the  snow. They usually appear as if someone had used a pepper mill, the way it looks around the fringes of these dense mats.

They are actually not fleas but springtails and are decomposers.  These hexapods have a shrimp-like tail that unfolds to fling the animal great distances. See more.