{"id":20887,"date":"2022-09-28T17:01:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T15:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=68187"},"modified":"2022-09-28T17:20:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T15:20:08","slug":"does-antarctica-have-any-insects","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/does-antarctica-have-any-insects\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Antarctica have any insects?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Richard Jones\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 28 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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To date, the insect fauna of Antarctica seems to number just one species \u2013 the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica. This tiny (2\u20136mm) fly is wingless (an adaptation to prevent it being blown away), and the maggots spend an arduous two years eking out meagre nutrition from tiny terrestrial algae and mosses to get through their life-cycle.<\/p>\n

At up to only six millimetres long, it may surprise you that Belgica antarctica is Antarctica’s largest land animal.These midges may be tiny, but they are also incredibly tough! pic.twitter.com\/rBJmrUODRR<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Natural History Museum (@NHM_London) January 10, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>