[4] Calycopteryx mosleyi has wings that have shrunk and turned into a fat reserve, probably due to the strong winds of the Kerguelen archipelago that make flight for tiny insects almost impossible.

[7] Apart from the cold, the climate is also characterized by extreme windswept, generally low cloud cover and snowfall occurrence through most of the year.

[8] However, newer studies reveal that there is a large number of C. mosleyi living in areas devoid of Kerguelen cabbages, like seaweed habitats[8] consisting mostly of kelps of the Macrocystis pyrifera species that were washed ashore.

[4] They have also been found in other coastal locations, like penguin colonies, where they have a similar role as in the seaweed ecosystems, they decompose organic matter.

[5] The population of Calycopteryx mosleyi has greatly reduced since the arrival of humans on the islands it inhabits, mostly due to the animals introduced to the ecosystem by them.