Antarctica might conjure up paradigm of snow - cap peaks and brave explorers , but against these romanticized views of one of Earth ’s harshest environments are the species that have to survive there . While seals and penguin might be more well - known , what about the largest nation brute on the continent ? It ’s sentence to meet the Antarctic midge ( Belgica antarctica ) .
Despite only being 2 - 6 millimeters ( 0.07 - 0.2 column inch ) long , the Antarctic midge is in reality the largest full - clock time terrestrial resident aboriginal to Antarctica . Penguins and seal are not full - meter residents and most bird species come and go with the seasons , expend large parts of the class at ocean .
What is extra strange about the Antarctic midge is that compared to most midge species , which fly around plaguy people and takingblood meals , this insect neither flies nor bites . They have completely lost their wings as a singular natural selection strategy against the incredibly high winds in the polar region .
or else , they have a litany of adaptations involving being able to survive -15 ° C ( 5 ° F ) , such as the going of70 pct of their physical structure fluidsand a monthwithout atomic number 8 . They also survive over winter by conglomerate dough as a innate antifreeze , and becoming dehydrated to prevent the formation ofice crystalsinside their cells .
The humanity ’s southernmost insect species can even survive being frozen upstanding for nine months of the twelvemonth . As a result , the petite critter read 2 years to complete its full lifecycle , which is drop largely as larvae . These larvae eat mostly bacteria , alga moss , and penguin poop .
By staying comparatively warm under a blanket of snow , study have revealedthat the larvae can survive a range of temperature dip , and apply a cognitive operation call up speedy dusty set to protect themselves under lab stipulation .
“ Evidence from previous studies demonstrate the Antarctic midge has survived on the continent since the outset , ” University of Kentucky investigator Nick Teetssaid in a statementabout a grant award to study these insect in 2019 . “ They are a good role model for us to get word about the history of Antarctica and a good model for scientists to predict how the continent will respond to clime alteration . ”
But while they might be pros at go Antarctic weather condition , those condition are change . Astudy from 2022shows that Antarctic midge are negatively impacted by warm atmospheric condition and could be in peril from global thaw as temperatures across the worldcontinue to rise .
