The good thing about the short Antarctic summer is it’s a lot like a Midwest winter.
The good thing about the short Antarctic summer is it’s a lot like a Midwest winter.
But for wingless flies, that’s also the bad thing about Antarctic summers. The flies and their eggs must contend with an unpredictable pattern of alternating mild and bitterly cold days.
University of Cincinnati biologist Joshua Benoit traveled to this Land of the Midnight Sun to learn how Antarctica’s only true insect can survive constant freezing and thawing. He found that the midges have surprising adaptations for life in their wintry realm.
Benoit and his students presented their findings in January at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology conference in Tampa, Florida.
Read more at University of Cincinnati
Photo: The Antarctic fly Belgica antarctica in lab conditions lays eggs in a thick gel that helps protect them from the elements. A UC study found the flies were uniquely adapted to survive freezing and thawing. CREDIT: UC Biology
