What does it take it be the Antarctic's only endemic insect? How do insects survive Antarctic winters, and extreme conditions? In this episode, Tom chats with Nick Teets, Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky, to discuss the antarctic midge (belgica antarctica) and other cold-tolerant, extremophile insects. We discover the survival strategies employed by these bizarre, wingless flies; the creatures which make the antarctic midge look soft; and the implications for research into cold tolerance.