The fifth chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Red midge”.
Larvae of the non-biting flies of the family Chironomidae spend all their development into the water. They use to live near the bottom of ponds where the oxygen uses to be scarce. This is the reason because some of them have adopted haemoglobin (the same molecule we have in our blood) as a respiratory pigment. It is the presence of that pigment into their bodies that gives them their surprising red colour.
This is the fifth chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.
We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.
Science into Images’s team.