Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 27, 2025

A Concoction Pipeline for Generating Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) Among Riparian and Aquatic Beetles
Published on: July 11, 2025
Why did only one genus of insects, Halobates, take to the high seas?
Lanna Cheng1, Himanshu Mishra2
1Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America.
Abstract:
Oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface and house a dizzying array of organisms. Mammals, birds, and all manner of fish can be commonly sighted at sea, but insects, the world's most common animals, seem to be completely absent. Appearances can deceive, however, as 5 species of the ocean skater Halobates live exclusively at the ocean surface. Discovered 200 years ago, these peppercorn-sized insects remain rather mysterious. How do they cope with life at the ocean surface, and why are they the only genus of insects to have taken to the high seas?
Related Concept Videos
Osmoregulation in Insects
Diversity of Protists I
Diversity of Protists II
Diversity of Archaea I
What is a Species?
Genetics of Speciation

