Instead of chopping firewood and pulling out the mittens to prepare for chilly winter days, the Arctic springtail hunkers down and dries itself out. A study published online July 21 in BMC Genomics identifies some of the genes that allow for the millimeters-long arthropod’s extreme wintering stunt.
When temperatures drop below freezing, Arctic springtails (Megaphorura arctica) lose a massive amount of water and shrivel into little husks. In this way — a method called cryoprotective dehydration — the critters ride out harsh winter temperatures. When conditions improve, the animals rehydrate, dust themselves off and crawl away.
“This whole question of what happens during dehydration is terribly interesting,” says David Denlinger, an insect physiologist at Ohio State University in Columbus. “Here is an animal that has figured out how to survive — dried out.”