We are now partnered with Adventure Scientists (@AdvScientists), which mobilizes outdoor enthusiasts to collect scientific data. We aim to study behavior, physiology, and genetics of snow flies from across the globe. Read more and sign up here: platform.adventurescientists…

Here is a helpful cheat sheet of the daily activity patterns of foraging invertebrates on Mt. Rainier. Based on summer time observations, which is why there are no snow flies. Mann, Edwards, and Tara (1980). DOI: 10.1080/00040851.1980.12004194

First snow fly of the season! 🥳🥳

Snow fly season is over, so now it's control experiment season! We are now looking for local volunteers @UW to help us collect other crane flies: these are the big endearing goofballs that resemble an oversized mosquito. Drop us a note if you happen to trap one.

Got just what I wanted for my birthday - bluebird conditions and a 4-legged snow fly.

we thought that snow flies had retired for the season, but looks like there are still some late season stragglers relishing the winter conditions! vid courtesy of @KameronDHarris.

Volunteers deliver snow flies to us in all sorts of containers, but this is a first.

gotta find a mate before the sun sets

We received our first shipment of snow flies from the Yukon this week! We are running behavioral experiments right now to measure their cold tolerance. After that, we will use DNA barcoding to determine the species of each individual animal. inaturalist.org/observations…

This is closest thing to a snow fly we've seen in the past few weeks in Western Washington. Fluctuating conditions (big mid winter warm up followed by a cold snap) seem to take a toll on adult snow fly populations.