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The only insects in the ocean live in the coastal areas, salt marshes, and tidal pools. These include various fly larvae, midges, some beetles, and several species of true bugs. While these insects may spend some time in the ocean, not all parts of their life cycle necessarily occur in the ocean. Some beetles will live in shallow areas of the ocean as adults, but also come out of the water at times.

One interesting group of insects is the Halobites. They are water skimmers that live their entire life on top of the ocean and are found great distances from shore. They lay their eggs on floating sea debris.

The best guess as to why there are no insects that live underwater in the open ocean is that insects evolved on land whereas the crustaceans evolved underwater giving them a competitive advantage from millions of years head start in colonizing the ocean. Because the insects developed on land, they would have to redevelop the traits necessary to live in the ocean.

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16y ago

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