Even the snowfields of the tundra can support a few insect species.
Of all the earth's biomes, the tundra is one of the harshest and most inhospitable to life. However, organisms do live and thrive there, including insects. There's not much biodiversity among insects in the tundra, but species such as flies, midges and mosquitoes are present. These insects have found a way to adapt to the extremely cold climate of this biome.
Springtails
Springtails are extremely tiny, herbivorous bugs that thrive anywhere there is moisture, such as the tundra snowfields. They lack the ability to fly but they are capable jumpers, a feature that gives them their name. They vary in color, from brown to red to purple.
Weevils
Weevils are also herbivorous, feeding greedily on the limited plant life --- both living and dead --- that grows in the tundra. They're related to beetles and are about the same size. A weevil's most-recognizable feature is its distinct jaw and snout. Weevils are most active in the spring and summer, when they breed.
Mosquitoes
The tundra is, surprisingly, home to more mosquitoes than any other biome. In the summer, thawed pools of water provide fertile breeding areas for mosquitoes. Arctic mosquitoes are especially adapted for the climate with naturally produced glycerol, which prevents water in their body from freezing. In this way, they can survive living underneath snow and ice until the summer thaw.
Flies
The tundra can be, particularly in the summertime, a nightmare of swarming flies. Like mosquitoes, flies find ample breeding opportunity in the nutrient-rich streams and ponds when the temperature rises. Black flies, deer flies and blowflies all reside in the tundra. The few human visitors or inhabitants of the tundra can be unpleasantly, even dangerously, swarmed by flies.
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