Tundra Insects

The coldest out of all the biomes, the name Tundra comes from the Finnish word “tunturi” which translates to treeless plain. This is evident from the biome’s frost-covered terrain, extremely low temperatures, short growing seasons, and scarce food source. Due to the challenging environment, only a handful of species can adapt to the biome. The insects there are often dark in color, to absorb more sunlight and therefore maintain high body temperatures.

Arctic Woolly Bear Moth (Gynaephora groenlandica)

It is a moth native to the High Arctic in the Canadian archipelago, Greenland, and Wrangel Island in Russia. It is distinct for its dense coat of soft hairs around its body, which can be used as a defense mechanism to cause skin and soft tissue irritation to its predators. Usually brown and amber in color, their colors may still vary. As a Tundra resident, this moth can withstand temperatures as low as -70 °C (−94 °F). It has an approximate life span of 7 years, spending most of it in its larval state and moulting only occurring during spring. It mainly feeds on the Arctic willow (Salix arctica), as its primary host plant and food source in the biome. It can also feed on plants such as flowers and leaves.

Arctic Bumblebee (Bombus polaris)

This bumblebee lives in the far north areas of Alaska, Canada, Northern Scandinavia, and Russia. Known for its iconic yellow and black stripes, they usually have black thorax with orange or yellow edges and a black tip. Similar to any animal in a tundra biome, the arctic bumblebee is “cold-blooded” and their bodies have adapted to a cold climate. They possess large flight muscles that serve as a heat source. By shivering said muscles, they generate enough heat to bring their body temperature up to 86°F. It also helps that they have a thick fur that traps and conserves heat, and if a flower is available they sit inside it to produce heat faster. Their main diet consists of berries and shrubs, these include alpine bearberry, black crowberry, lingonberry, and more. This insect is also essential for the pollination of many northern plants like the arctic willow.

Arctic Wolf Spider (Pardosa glacialis)

This arachnid is a type of spider exclusively found in the Arctic specifically, Greenland. Appearing with brown color mixed with black or white patterns, this eight-legged critter is a carnivore. They have a lifespan of at least 2 years and can grow up to 4 centimeters (1.6 inches). They sit atop the arthropod kingdom and feed on other insects like springtail. However, their kind is also cannibalistic and will eat their offspring to keep the numbers balanced. Since spiders are cold-blooded, this helps the wolf spiders in adapting to harsh environments like the Tundra. Aside from the wolf spiders, there are still many spider families that live in the Arctic with similarities and differences to the wolf spider.

Arctic Fritillary (Boloria chariclea)

Among the dark palette that tundra insects have to show, the Arctic Fritillary butterfly poses its bold and bright orange-brown wings with dark markings. This creature inhabits different parts of the world namely, Alaska, Canada, the north Cascades, the Rocky Mountains southwards to Utah and northern New Mexico, northern Minnesota, northern Maine and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It can live in the tundra but also in taigas, alpine meadows and streamsides, acid bogs. They are able to survive and adapt to the conditions of a tundra biome because their blood has glycerol which acts as an “antifreeze” quality. As larvae, they eat plant leaves, herbs, and fuzzy plant species but as an adult their food source becomes flower nectar and asters.

Snow Scorpionfly (Boreus brumalis)

In spite of its name, this critter ironically cannot fly and only bears a small resemblance to scorpions but are deserving of the “snow” part. Its unique characteristics consist of a dark-colored elongated “rostrum” (beak), long antenna, and long hind legs. Typically found in North America and Canada, on snowy areas with high elevation as their natural habitats. They survive the cold by absorbing heat through their dark bodies and staying at the layer just above the snow where there is very little wind, the snow plays a role in this process as it helps in bouncing the heat back to the Scorpionfly. They feed on mosses and plants.