The largest land animal in Antarctica is an insect. The only insect on the ice -cold continent, that is – no other six -potty can cope with the harsh polar winds, with temperatures far below freezing. But this 3 millimeter large wingless dance mosquito, Belgica Antarctica (named after the Belgian sailing ship that became frozen in 1898 in the southern polar ice) has a unique survival mechanism. Japanese researchers write in Scientific Reports That the mosquitoes in their biennial life (which they largely spend as a larva) know two tactics to get through the coldest periods.
In their first winter the larvae go into winter rest: no sleep, but an inactive period as it occurs in more species. The advantage of that light rest is that the dance mosquitoes can quickly develop further as soon as the temperatures rise. At that time, the mosquito larvae are still far from full: they are only in the second of a total of four larval stages.
The then the larvae (now four in stage four) go into ‘Bond Diapause’: a much deeper state of rest where they only come out when the snow melts, in the Antarctic summer. After that, the rest of their short life takes place at a rapid pace: they pupate until adult dance mosquito and then have a few more days to find a partner.