Discovery of World�s Only Blind Flying Cave Insect
May 31, 2016
When I think of flying insects, I generally assume that they can see. Well, apparently that is no longer the case. Scientists recently discovered a new species of non-biting midge in the Lukina Jama cane system, the 14th
When I think of flying insects, I generally assume that they can see. Well, apparently that is no longer the case. Scientists recently discovered a new species of non-biting midge in the Lukina Jama cane system, the 14th deepest cave in the world, 1,432 meters underground in Southern Croatia. The Troglocladius hajdi is completely blind, has elongated legs to help it feel around, and absolutely no pigment in its' body. What has scientists amazed, however, is that the insect also has large wings that appear to still work.
So far, scientists have only found females of the species. They think this may be because the species has no males, and that it reproduces asexually. Scientists also believe that these insects probably don't even feed. So, that means this strange albino midge spend its' life just hanging out in these caves�not eating and not having sex�seems like a pretty pointless existence to me. I'm honestly wondering what the point of their existence is at all.
Would you want to live if you couldn't enjoy food or sex? What do you think the purpose of these strange blind flying insects is?
