Insects able to come back to life after freezing. §fifteen. Insect class. From wet tropics to waterless deserts

devil worm

This type of nematode was discovered only recently, in 2011. He does not care about all-destroying pressure, lack of oxygen and high temperature. The habitats of the worm are located up to 3.5 kilometers below the surface of the planet. Having chosen such a “home” for itself, the animal set a new “world record”, improving the previous “achievement” of multicellular organisms at once one and a half kilometers. Worms spend their lives in complete darkness, eating the simplest bacteria and drinking them with water, which is 12 thousand years old.

Himalayan jumping spider

The jumping spider is the complete opposite of the devil worm. His "home" is located at an altitude of over 6.5 km above sea level. The usual "weather" for a spider is extremely low atmospheric pressure and a temperature at which all life freezes. Tiny insects, which are carried into the mountains by the wind, are the only food of the Himalayan spider, and even that does not come across often.

immortal jellyfish

Who among adults would not like to return to childhood for a while, when all problems can be solved by crying into their mother's hem? It turns out that this is not fiction, but a natural process. Under the right conditions, this LED-like or police flasher-like jellyfish is able to revert to its infant state, making it virtually immortal. Scientists have not yet found any restrictions on the number of transformations. Unfortunately, every time an immortal jellyfish “falls into childhood”, it becomes very vulnerable to insects and diseases, which limits theoretical immortality in practice.

Red flat bark beetle

This insect is native to the northern regions of Alaska and Canada, and is able to withstand frosts down to -150 degrees Celsius. The beetle's body produces natural antifreeze, a protein that prevents blood from crystallizing. In addition, there is glycerin in the blood, which also stops freezing.

Pompeii worm

The habitats of the Pompeian worm are located on the ocean floor. However, their main ability is not that they successfully resist depth and pressure. The worm lives in hot thermal springs, where the water temperature reaches 80-100 degrees Celsius. He hides his body in the "house", but his head sticks out from the outside. As a result, the difference in ambient temperature for the tail and head is more than 60 degrees.

tardigrade

Microscopic, no more than a millimeter long, animals are able to survive literally anywhere. For them, neither a wide temperature range, from cosmic cold to 150 degrees Celsius, nor a pressure that is 1200 times higher than atmospheric pressure is a problem. Tardigrades are able to do without water for decades and withstand radiation that is a thousand times higher than lethal doses for humans. In 2007, people sent tardigrades into space to find the limits of their survivability. Most of the animals have successfully returned to Earth.

Comments: 0

Alexander Markov

Alexander Markov, Yakov Krotov

From a Christian point of view

Man comes from a monkey, and religion - from ignorance? Or how? Where is the boundary between scientific and Christian understanding of man? The guest of the program "From a Christian point of view" is the biologist Alexander Markov. Hosted by Yakov Krotov.

Transgenic plants tend to spread "on their own", this is already a fairly well known fact. And that's how it should be treated as a fact. How does this happen? And who can say with certainty what this can lead to? With these and other questions, we turned to the Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Plant Physiology. K. A. Timiryazev of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Dylykovich Tsydendambaev.

Many people experience neuralgic pain in childhood, but for young sea urchins, growth means turning inside out. A new study reveals the key role of the common and familiar substance histamine in the spectacular transformation that occurs when a free-swimming larva transforms into a more familiar, spiky, seabed-dwelling adult.

Mathematicians at the University of Arizona have developed a model that explains the special spiral structure that is often found in wildlife - in sunflowers, artichokes, cabbages and other plants.

Features of the body of insects of some species allow: to save life after freezing and thawing; inhabit hot springs with a water temperature of +500C; live for a long time without water due to the oxidation of stored nutrients; survive in a deep vacuum and spend hours in pure carbon dioxide; live in salt brine, crude oil, etc. Of course, in cold and dry areas, as well as in such critical conditions for life, representatives of a few species of insects live. However, it is they who, by their example, clearly demonstrate what truly phenomenal capabilities are endowed with, it would seem, completely defenseless beings. Moreover, like many other animals, insects do not “survive” in such a complex and harsh environment, but live in it that full life, the features of which are included in their genetic program. Let's look at this with some examples.

The body of not only the inhabitants of the highlands, but also the inhabitants of mosses and lichens of the Antarctic islands, for example, beetles of certain species, is able not to break down when rapidly cooled to almost -400C. Their genetic program controls the unique mini-production of glycerin oil and other special substances that act like the well-known car antifreeze. Some species of amphibians and other cold-resistant representatives of the animal world are endowed with the same saving substances. And the beetles and flies that live in Alaska are endowed with a remarkable ability to withstand even temperatures down to -600C. Insects, of course, freeze, but their body is equipped in such a way that ice crystals form only from the outside, without damaging cells, organs and tissues.

Representatives of most insect species live on land, but many of them live in a wide variety of aquatic environments, including non-traditional ones. Thus, the special structure of the body of the larvae of some species of mosquitoes allows them to develop perfectly in hot geysers, where only bacteria can still live. The same ability is shown by green dragonflies, whose young individuals are inhabitants of geysers with a water temperature of +400C. Mosquito larvae in mass are able to breed in the brackish coastal waters of the Caspian Sea. And insects such as, for example, some species of bugs, have all the possibilities for a normal life in the oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific. Surprisingly, there is a California oil fly, the habitat and all the vital activity of which is associated exclusively with thick crude oil. According to the hereditary program, she feeds on insects that have got there and stuck and even produces her offspring in oil. In her body, everything is “provided” for this. The fly's intestines are inhabited by symbiont bacteria that break down oil paraffin and promote its absorption. The fly can freely run on its thin legs on the oil film without sticking to it, however, touching the film with any other part of the body is fatal for the fly. The body of the larvae of this fly, which develop in crude oil and feed on adhering insects, is also provided with everything necessary. So, the program of instinctive behavior makes these babies, like aquatic larvae, hold the tips of breathing tubes specially made by the body above the surface of the oil in order to breathe air oxygen.

Everything in the world of insects is amazing - the diversity of species, and the gigantic population, and the way of life, and the incomprehensible complexity and expediency of the structure of organisms, and sometimes the inexplicable behavior of individuals, families, colonies. Insects play the most important role both in the multi-link ecological chain and in its finest, barely perceptible threads.

This is the most species-rich group of animals. It has about a million insect species just described, and discoveries continue. Scientists believe that there are at least two to three million species of insects on Earth. This is much more than all other animals and plants combined. Moreover, each type of insect has its own structural features, life processes and behavior. According to one well-known entomologist, one species of insect is often no closer to another than a fly is to an elephant. And since a species is a qualitatively isolated form of a living thing, all its representatives interbreed with the formation of offspring. At the same time, interspecific crosses never give full-fledged offspring capable of procreation and transmission of "multi-species" traits. Here, the genetic system of protecting the purity of each species, which is embedded in organisms, works.

Insects make up 29 orders. Among them: orthoptera - grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, bears, cockroaches, praying mantises, termites, dragonflies, mayflies, lice; Homoptera (arthroproboscis) - cicadas, worms, aphids; hemiptera (or bugs); beetles (or beetles); Lepidoptera (or butterflies); Diptera - flies, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, midges, fleas; hymenoptera - bees, wasps, ants, riders and others.

Insects are a multifaceted miracle of wildlife, they have their own special purpose on Earth, which is difficult to overestimate. They are excellent pollinators, soil-formers, orderlies of nature, and what is important for humans - insects improve soil fertility, restrain the excessive spread of many agricultural pests, produce honey and medicinal substances, dyes of juicy flowers, silk. More than half of our diet is plant-based. And 15% of it owes its harvest to pollinating insects. They also pollinate most plant foods for animals. In addition, we enjoy admiring the beauty of bizarre forms, patterns and colors of the body, as well as the grace of movements. Only a small part (about 1%) of insects causes involuntary damage to human activities. But this is nothing compared to the important role they play in people's lives and in maintaining natural ecological balance.

Insects are generously endowed with everything necessary to actively live and embody their destiny on Earth. They have perfect organs and systems, as well as a brain and a kind of heart. The nervous and sensory (associated with the sense organs) systems allow insects to sense and perceive the world around them, the organs of movement allow them to move in space and carry out all actions related to life, and the coordination and control systems purposefully manage all the processes and structures of the body, as well as the behavior of insects .

With all the richness of forms and colors, the perfection of the structure of the body, individual devices, systems and interrelated physiological processes, the behavior of insects is no less diverse. Both genetically based instinctive behavior and acquired individual experience are striking in their complexity, expediency and uniqueness. No two types of insects behave in the same way. A representative of each species can be recognized by an innate strategy for obtaining food, building activities, by those postures, sounds, chemicals that are inherent in it during food, reproductive, protective, social and other forms of behavior.

The complexity of the behavior and structure of the body of social insects - ants, bees, wasps, termites - is incomprehensible. Since ancient times, many of their activities cause a feeling of admiration. Even St. Augustine wrote: “We are more amazed by the deeds of small ants and bees than by the huge bodies of whales.” Among these insects there are also farmers who graze, protect and “milk” animals useful to them and agricultural insects, capable of not only harvesting, but also growing it, having previously prepared the land and planting seeds. All public insects are excellent builders, constructing, depending on their species, small individual buildings, large public houses, and entire cities with powerful communication systems. Everything is taken into account in them for the normal life of both an individual and a family, up to the creation of the necessary microclimate, and the life of colonies and giant federations of social insects.

Modern entomology sees no fundamental grounds for opposing the behavior of insects and the so-called "higher" vertebrates. Indeed, in insects of some species, such complex mental processes as imagination, abstract thinking, symbolization, memory, the ability to learn and develop conditioned reflexes, their own "language" and even elementary rational activity are involved in their behavior. The world of insects, which includes these most amazing and perfect creatures, is fragile and unique in all its diverse manifestations. It should not only be loved, but also be sure to protect.

Opportunities for ubiquitous habitation

For insects - this unusually numerous class of small creatures, it is characteristic that they successfully live and breed almost everywhere - from the Arctic to the deserts languishing in the heat, and are absent only in the depths of the ocean. The soil is literally teeming with insects. Myriads of them are carried in the air, and even at an altitude of up to 2 km, these creatures form a giant layer of plankton, which serves as food for birds.

Diversity of organism types and habitats of insects

Insects of each species occupy only that area and are able to withstand precisely those environmental conditions for which their organism is intended, the innate mechanisms of life and behavior are “tuned”. Thanks to this, insects can live in the most severe conditions, even in the cold Arctic tundra and on snowy mountain peaks, in sunny savannahs and deserts, in tropical rainforests and taiga, in human dwellings and on animals. For example, butterflies, seemingly very fragile creatures, live on the globe almost everywhere. Their active life activity is possible due to the special expediency of the type of organism, which can be conditionally called "southern", "northern", "tropical", "universal". Thus, the universal organism of butterflies of one species ensures their distribution over many regions with a wide variety of natural factors. And the body of others is intended only for a specific habitat, as, for example, in butterflies living exclusively in the Alps, above the snow line at an average temperature of -10 0 C. Or, for example, in one of the inhabitants of the desert, the dark beetle of some species the device of the body provides an active life in this environment. The insect tolerates heat well and quenches thirst by condensing the life-giving moisture of night fogs.

Features of the body of insects of some species allow: to save life after freezing and thawing; inhabit hot springs with a water temperature of +50 0 С; live for a long time without water due to the oxidation of stored nutrients; survive in a deep vacuum and spend hours in pure carbon dioxide; live in salt brine, crude oil, etc.

Of course, in cold and dry areas, as well as in such critical conditions for life, representatives of a few species of insects live. However, it is they who, by their example, clearly demonstrate what truly phenomenal capabilities are endowed with, it would seem, completely defenseless beings. Moreover, like many other animals, insects do not “survive” in such a complex and harsh environment, but live in it that full life, the features of which are included in their genetic program. Let's look at this with some examples.

Cold tolerance of insects

Some insects are conquerors and permanent inhabitants of mountain peaks. In the saddle of Elbrus at an altitude of 5300 m, you can see dragonflies and urticaria. And settled flies, beetles, aphids, butterflies, locusts are found in the Himalayas even at an altitude of 6000 m above sea level. They feed on plant pollen and organic debris that mountain breezes bring. Insects live under stones, in the soil, in rare patches of alpine plant carpets, and even in the snow. But there are especially many of them at the edge of melting ice, where there is high humidity and it is easier to find food brought by melt water. For a normal life and reproduction, crickets of one of the species necessarily settle in mountainous areas covered with snow, since the device of their body is designed only for a habitat with a low temperature. And the jaundice butterfly living in the northern latitudes and high in the mountains is endowed with an amazing property of live birth, which puzzled entomologists at one time, since this is not typical for butterflies. It is assumed that live birth helps her offspring to complete development during the short summer of these places.

The isotome flea lives exclusively on the surface of eternal snows. Every night, the body of this tiny insect is subjected to the most cruel tests, but the insect again and again demonstrates an excellent ability to live in extremely harsh conditions. It freezes completely as soon as the sun sets, but due to its dark color it also thaws quickly in the warm morning rays. Having revived, the isotome flea continues to deal with all the vital problems of life, implementing its hereditary program, which it will pass on to its descendants. Recently, entomologists have discovered that some species of twitching mosquitoes are also able to live and procreate in such extreme conditions, which, it would seem, are incompatible with life. They live in the crevices and tunnels of glaciers on the high slopes of the Himalayas. This insect is endowed with such an excellent organism that it feels great and does not freeze at -16 0 C. And the female mosquito is even active in winter, when frosts rage in the mountains. How twitchers live and continue their genus at such low temperatures, and what are the physiological characteristics of their body of mosquitoes of this species are not yet clear to scientists.

About 40 species of insects (mosquitoes, bumblebees, beetles, day and night butterflies) live beyond the Arctic Circle - where there are flowering plants. Due to the northern type of organism, mosquitoes of some varieties play a particularly important role in the cold Arctic deserts and the tundra zone. Their males and females, flying from flower to flower, feed on nectar and pollinate plants along the way. After all, there are practically no bees in the tundra and taiga. In the Arctic, bumblebees are also busy pollinating flowers. Their body is well equipped to work in cold climes. The active work of the muscles and the shaggy warm coat of the bumblebee provide heating of its body up to +37 0 C at an outside air temperature of 0 0 C. This heat is generated during the flight due to chemical reactions occurring in the muscles.

The body of not only the inhabitants of the highlands, but also the inhabitants of mosses and lichens of the Antarctic islands, for example, beetles of certain species, is able not to break down when rapidly cooled to almost -400C. Their genetic program controls the unique mini-production of glycerin oil and other special substances that act like the well-known car antifreeze. Some species of amphibians and other cold-resistant representatives of the animal world are endowed with the same saving substances. And the beetles and flies that live in Alaska are endowed with a remarkable ability to withstand even temperatures down to -60 0 C. Insects, of course, freeze, but their body is equipped in such a way that ice crystals form only outside, without damaging cells, organs and tissues.

From wet tropics to waterless deserts

For a myriad of insects, tropical forests serve as an ecological niche, occupying a considerable part of the earth's surface. The branches of trees, starting from a height of at least 15 m, are so closely intertwined with each other and tightly entwined with vines that almost no light breaks through the crown formed. The forest canopy, which is sometimes 30 m thick, is inhabited by animals such as monkeys, birds, mice, frogs, insects and even earthworms (!). The local inhabitants are born here, grow up, live an active full life and die. And many of them never touch the ground in their entire lives. And insects live on all the "floors" of the forest: in the ground, leaf litter, in tree trunks, in the depths of the tropical canopy and on the highest tier of the forest - on the branches and leaves of this so-called "roof of the world".

Of the insects in the rainforest, butterflies, beetles, ants, termites, and cicadas predominate. Butterflies and beetles are unusually large and beautiful. They were given a bright color to help them find their mates, because otherwise, in the thick of intertwined branches, it is impossible for insects to see or hear each other. There are also amazing bird-winged butterflies, whose giant wings (30 cm) allow males and females to fly above the continuous crown of tropical trees during the mating season.

Insects also make up a significant part of the inhabitants of the deserts. Most of all there are ants, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, dark beetles and beautiful gold beetles, especially black and golden. All of them hide from the heat of the day in deep minks, and get out to hunt only after dark. The magnificent possibilities of the body and behavior are demonstrated by some species of dark beetles that live in the hottest and most arid regions of the desert. Thanks to instinctive behavioral mechanisms, they go to the tops of the sand dunes at night to "drink the moisture of the mists." Lowering its head, the beetle raises its abdomen up and turns towards the moist wind from the sea. Moisture, condensing on its special ribbed back, flows directly into the insect's mouth.

From salt water to oil

Surprisingly, there is a California oil fly, the habitat and all the vital activity of which is associated exclusively with thick crude oil. According to the hereditary program, she feeds on insects that have got there and stuck and even produces her offspring in oil. In her body, everything is “provided” for this. The fly's intestines are inhabited by symbiont bacteria that break down oil paraffin and promote its absorption. The fly can freely run on its thin legs on the oil film without sticking to it, however, touching the film with any other part of the body is fatal for the fly. The body of the larvae of this fly, which develop in crude oil and feed on adhering insects, is also provided with everything necessary. So, the program of instinctive behavior makes these babies, like aquatic larvae, hold the tips of breathing tubes specially made by the body above the surface of the oil in order to breathe air oxygen.

Extremophiles are organisms that live and thrive in habitats where life is impossible for most other organisms. The suffix (-phil) in Greek means love. Extremophiles "love" to live in extreme conditions. They have the ability to withstand conditions such as high radiation, high or low pressure, high or low pH, lack of light, extreme heat or cold, and extreme drought.

Most extremophiles are microorganisms such as, and. Larger organisms such as worms, frogs, and insects can also live in extreme habitats. There are different classes of extremophiles based on the type of environment they thrive in. Here are some of them:

An acidophilus is an organism that thrives in an acidic environment with pH levels of 3 and below.
Alkalifil is an organism that thrives in alkaline environments with pH levels of 9 and above.
A barophile is an organism that lives in high pressure environments such as deep sea habitats.
A halophile is an organism that lives in habitats with extremely high salt concentrations.
Hyperthermophilus is an organism that thrives in environments with extremely high temperatures (80° to 122° C).
A psychrophile/cryophile is an organism that lives in extremely cold conditions and low temperatures (from -20° to +10° C).
Radioresistant organisms - an organism that thrives in environments with high levels of radiation, including ultraviolet and nuclear radiation.
A xerophile is an organism that lives in extremely dry conditions.

tardigrades

Tardigrades or water bears can tolerate several types of extreme conditions. They live in hot springs, Antarctic ice, as well as in deep environments, on mountain peaks and even in. Tardigrades are commonly found in lichens and mosses. They feed on plant cells and tiny invertebrates such as nematodes and rotifers. Water bears reproduce, although some will reproduce through parthenogenesis.

Tardigrades can survive in various extreme environments because they are able to temporarily shut down their metabolism when conditions are not suitable for survival. This process is called cryptobiosis and allows water bears to enter a state that will allow them to survive in conditions of extreme aridity, lack of oxygen, extreme cold, low pressure, and high toxicity or radiation. Tardigrades can stay in this state for several years and come out of it when the environment becomes habitable.

Artemia ( Artemia salina)

Artemia is a type of small crustacean that is able to live in conditions with extremely high salt concentrations. These extremophiles live in salt lakes, salt marshes, seas and rocky shores. Their main food source is green algae. Artemia have gills that help them survive in a salty environment by absorbing and excreting ions and producing concentrated urine. Like tardigrades, brine shrimp reproduce both sexually and asexually (through parthenogenesis).

Helicobacter pylori bacteria ( Helicobacter pylori)

Helicobacter pylori- a bacterium that lives in the extremely acidic environment of the stomach. These bacteria secrete an enzymatic urease that neutralizes hydrochloric acid. It is known that other bacteria are not able to withstand the acidity of the stomach. Helicobacter pylori are spiral bacteria that can burrow into the stomach wall and cause ulcers or even stomach cancer in humans. Most people in the world have these bacteria in their stomachs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but they generally rarely cause illness.

cyanobacteria Gloeocapsa

Gloeocapsa- a genus of cyanobacteria that usually live on wet rocks of rocky shores. These bacteria contain chlorophyll and are capable of. Cells Gloeocapsa surrounded by gelatinous shells, which may be brightly colored or colorless. Scientists have found that they are able to survive in space for a year and a half. Rock samples containing Gloeocapsa, were placed outside the International Space Station, and these microorganisms were able to withstand the extreme conditions of space, such as temperature fluctuations, vacuum exposure and radiation exposure.

Features of the body of insects of some species allow: to save life after freezing and thawing; inhabit hot springs with a water temperature of +50°C; live for a long time without water due to the oxidation of stored nutrients; survive in a deep vacuum and spend hours in pure carbon dioxide; live in salt brine, crude oil, etc. Of course, in cold and dry areas, as well as in such critical conditions for life, representatives of a few species of insects live. However, it is they who, by their example, clearly demonstrate what truly phenomenal capabilities are endowed with, it would seem, completely defenseless beings. Moreover, like many other animals, insects do not “survive” in such a complex and harsh environment, but live in it that full life, the features of which are included in their genetic program. Let's look at this with some examples.

The body of not only the inhabitants of the highlands, but also the inhabitants of mosses and lichens of the Antarctic islands, for example, beetles of certain species, is able not to be destroyed by rapid cooling to almost -40°C. Their genetic program controls the unique mini-production of glycerin oil and other special substances that act like the well-known car antifreeze. Some species of amphibians and other cold-resistant representatives of the animal world are endowed with the same saving substances. And the beetles and flies that live in Alaska are endowed with a remarkable ability to withstand even temperatures down to -60 ° C. Insects, of course, freeze, but their body is equipped in such a way that ice crystals form only from the outside, without damaging cells, organs and tissues.

Representatives of most insect species live on land, but many of them live in a wide variety of aquatic environments, including non-traditional ones. Thus, the special structure of the body of the larvae of some species of mosquitoes allows them to develop perfectly in hot geysers, where only bacteria can still live. The same ability is shown by green dragonflies, whose young individuals are inhabitants of geysers with a water temperature of +40°C. Mosquito larvae in mass are able to breed in the brackish coastal waters of the Caspian Sea. And insects such as, for example, some species of bugs, have all the possibilities for a normal life in the oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific. Surprisingly, there is a California oil fly, the habitat and all the vital activity of which is associated exclusively with thick crude oil. According to the hereditary program, she feeds on insects that have got there and stuck and even produces her offspring in oil. In her body, everything is “provided” for this. The fly's intestines are inhabited by symbiont bacteria that break down oil paraffin and promote its absorption. The fly can freely run on its thin legs on the oil film without sticking to it, however, touching the film with any other part of the body is fatal for the fly. The body of the larvae of this fly, which develop in crude oil and feed on adhering insects, is also provided with everything necessary. So, the program of instinctive behavior makes these babies, like aquatic larvae, hold the tips of breathing tubes specially made by the body above the surface of the oil in order to breathe air oxygen.

Categories

Popular