Besides a few very committed scientists, there’s only one organism that can live on the continent of Antarctica year-round. It’s not a penguin or a seal; they live mostly at sea.

No, it’s the tiny Antarctic midge, just a quarter inch long and extremely adapted to the extreme environment.

Midges are small insects that usually fly and bite hosts to feed on blood. The Antarctic midge does neither.

Like many insects in very windy places, it has lost its wings to keep from being blown away—and here—to avoid losing heat.

This midge can thrive in temperatures down to five degrees Fahrenheit and actually requires subfreezing conditions to survive.

It does this by dehydrating itself, losing up to 70 percent of its water, and producing antifreeze-like proteins in its blood.

The larvae, which look like tiny worms, hatch from eggs and congregate just below the ice, eating bacteria and penguin dung on the rocky shores, where they have no predators.

This is by far their longest life stage, lasting three years: until in their third summer, they molt into adults and live about a week to breed.

The females lay eggs in a protective antifreeze gel, then die, and the cycle starts again.

Yet another example of the wide-ranging adaptability into narrow environmental niches of life on Earth.