The Insect That Thrives in Antarctica

It requires a certain attitude to brave the elements of Antarctica. Luckily, the Antarctic midge has a set of adaptations that fit the bill.

Hosted by: Michael Aranda

----------
----------
Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:

Kevin Bealer, Jacob, Katie Marie Magnone, D.A. Noe, Charles Southerland, Eric Jensen, Christopher R Boucher, Alex Hackman, Matt Curls, Adam Brainard, Jeffrey McKishen, Scott Satovsky Jr, James Knight, Sam Buck, Chris Peters, Kevin Carpentier, Patrick D. Ashmore, Piya Shedden, Sam Lutfi, Charles George, Christoph Schwanke, Greg
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
----------
Sources:
Leslie Potts, Researcher at the University of Kentucky
Prof. Nicholas Teets, Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Kentucky

Image Sources:
Leslie Potts
Dr. Ben Philip
Richard E. Lee, Jr.

[Silkendrum]

What do they eat?

Ok, I checked Wikipedia: "Terrestrial algae (particularly Prasiola crispa), moss, organic detritus, and microorganisms provide the food for the larval stage." The adults don't live long enough to bother eating, I guess.

[Brosephv]

"it's a fly that can't fly"
... so it's a walk?

[AxielFan]

Not mentioned here is that the midge survives by eating bacteria and penguin poop. Its genome is likely reduced due to the fact that has no predators, kind of like an extremophile.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

The only continent that doesn’t have mosquitoes, lucky penguins and midge

[mobaby]

Cockroach: I can survive anything

Midge: Hold my beercicle

[Pilsnor]

They just cross thier arms and say: “it’s fine here, no need to move”

[MRNIGHTMARE]

Fly that don't have wing

Me : flyn't

[MinkDaddy]

Yo, shout out to whomever risked their lives studying these little guys!

[Yawnsalot]

"The ozone layer is really thin" = "Sun is a deadly laser"

[paullovescoffee]

In the end, I can only say one thing that the world is amazing.

[lifeincolour]

Imagine going on a trip to the Antarctic for work or whatever and you see this thing kicking around on the snow. Without knowing this insect exists you'd think you're tripping (no pun intended).

[sebastianelytron]

What do you call a bear that has been to Antarctica and the North Pole?




A bipolar bear

[JustinY.]

"Man 2020 sucks, how can it gets worse?"

_Points to a swarm of these insects_

[thedrytortuga]

It's good to see Michael Aranda again. He's looking very human, like in a relatable sense. Thank you!

[JustADioWhosAHeroForFun]

Wow, I actually didn't know an insect could live in Antarctica

[coletakkish]

The title, thumbnail, and thumbnail caption of this video combine to give me a truly unprecedented amount of anxiety

[YangoIsBetter]

this is crazy fascinating, imm not sure why this doesnt have more interest

[Richard_Jones]

I just want to say that Sci Show has been one of the few bright sparks over the 3 months. The amount of work you all must have to do to maintain this output during this pandemic is just mindblowing. I can't thank you enough.

[verdatum]

Dang, Michael, nice hair today. I mean, I'm here for the science, but that's a good look.

[rpb]

But what do they eat during 2 years of larval stage??