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πŸͺ° Flies

Antarctic Midge

Belgica antarctica

About

The only insect endemic to Antarctica and the continents largest purely terrestrial animal at 2-6 mm. Wingless, freeze-tolerant, and can survive temperatures down to -15C.

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Did You Know?

This midge has the smallest known insect genome at 99 million base pairs β€” 97% smaller than a mosquito, likely an adaptation to survive extreme cold with minimal energy.