Abstract
The Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica, is the only insect that is endemic to the Antarctic Peninsula and its offshore islands. The final (fourth) instar larvae exhibit high inherent thermal tolerance to short-term temperature exposure, and many studies have focused on the underlying molecular physiological mechanisms of their thermal tolerance. In contrast, the thermal strategy of embryos has received little attention, and the effects of long-term thermal exposure on newly hatched larvae have not been investigated. The present study reports that the average supercooling point of egg masses was − 4.7 °C and that the first instar larvae successfully emerged from the frozen egg masses. The embryos also demonstrated significant heat tolerance and the first instar larvae successfully emerged from the egg masses kept at temperatures ranging from 0 to 15 °C. These indicate that embryos have sufficient tolerance to cold and heat during Antarctic summer. Interestingly, the first instar larvae developed into fourth instar larvae at 4 °C, but not at other temperatures. Early instar larvae have a narrow temperature window for their development, suggesting that they are susceptible to environmental changes.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the JST SPRING (Grant No. JPMJSP2139). We are grateful to Drs. D. L. Denlinger and R. E. Lee for providing insects for us and advising us on this study. We thank Dr. K. Soga for allowing us to use the illuminometer. We also thank Editage (http://www.editage.co.jp) for English editing.
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MY and SGG conceived and designed the study. MY conducted the experiments. MY analyzed data. MY and SGG wrote the manuscript. Both authors have read and approved the manuscript.
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Yoshida, M., Goto, S.G. Thermal responses of the embryos and early instar larvae of the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica (Insecta: Diptera). Polar Biol 46, 539–544 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03142-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03142-8