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39. The Colonization of the Sea by Insects: with an Account of the Habits of Pontomyia , the only known Submarine Insect
Author(s) -
Buxton P. A.
Publication year - 1926
Publication title -
proceedings of the zoological society of london
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0370-2774
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1926.tb07128.x
Subject(s) - submarine , midge , insect , estuary , salt water , biology , ecology , colonization , oceanography , larva , geology
Summary. The habits and occurrence of a new submarine Chironomid midge ( Pontomyia nutans Edwards, described in the previous paper) which was found by the author in Samoa, are described. It is pointed out that no other insect is known which is submarine in all stages; the reason for this is obscure, in view of the great adaptability of insects to the varying conditions which prevail in fresh water. For instance, insects which live in lakes and streams are able to withstand waves and currents: larvæ of Diptera, and of one Trichopteron, can live in water as salt as or salter than the sea; among the Chironomidæ, many have marine larvæ, but in all except Pontomyia the adult is aerial. In estuaries, and in such seas as the Baltic and the Caspian, the boundary between fresh and salt water is gradual. In spite of this, insects have failed to colonize the sea; possibly they can overcome any one of the barriers which exist between fresh and salt water, but not a combination of the barriers.