Surviving the Antarctic winter-Life Stage Cold Tolerance and Ice Entrapment Survival in The Invasive Chironomid Midge .

An insect's ability to tolerate winter conditions is a critical determinant of its success. This is true for both native and invasive species, and especially so in harsh polar environments. The midge (Diptera, Chironomidae) is invasive to maritime Antarctic Signy Island, and the ability of fourth instar larvae to tolerate freezing is hypothesized to allow the species to extend its range further south.

Life cycle and phenology of an Antarctic invader: the flightless chironomid midge, .

Knowledge of the life cycles of non-native species in Antarctica is key to understanding their ability to establish and spread to new regions. Through laboratory studies and field observations on Signy Island (South Orkney Islands, maritime Antarctic), we detail the life stages and phenology of (Schaeffer 1914), a brachypterous chironomid midge introduced to Signy in the 1960s from sub-Antarctic South Georgia where it is endemic. We confirm that the species is parthenogenetic and suggest that this enables to have an adult emergence period that extends across the entire maritime Antarctic summer season, unlike its sexually reproducing sister species which is itself endemic to the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands.