Snow bugs are often seen in autumn before the long winter in Hokkaido. In Hokkaido, it is said that the first snow falls when snow bugs fly, but "Yukimushi" is not its official name. What exactly are they? We also investigated whether "the first snow falls when snow bugs fly" is true.

The true identity of the snow bug is the "Steller's sea lion weevil.

Snow bugs are a type of aphid known as "Abies sachalinensis. As adults, they are covered with waxy white hairs and fly about in a fluffy manner, giving rise to the name "snow bug" as it "looks like snow.

They are born in spring in a tree called Yachidamo, and live in Abies sachalinensis from summer to the beginning of fall. They change generations several times during the year while sucking the sap of the Abies sachalinensis tree, and at the end of autumn, the adults with wings migrate to the Yachidamo tree. In other words, what we were seeing was the adult Abies sachalinensis snow beetle on its way from Abies sachalinensis to Yachidamo.

An unusual survival strategy unique to a weak insect.

The Abies sachalinensis is known as a "weak insect," having no way to resist foreign enemies and being preyed upon rapidly. However, a major characteristic to counteract this is its "stem mother" morphology.

One female produces about 150 larvae, so they have been able to survive until now by continuing to produce more larvae even though they are being preyed upon. This is why they have survived until now.