There are between five million and six million insect species worldwide, and scientists have described about one million of them. Of these, only one, the Antarctic midge, is able to survive at the bottom of the planet. Purplish, wriggly and the size of a pinkie fingernail clipping, Antarctic midge larvae live for nearly two years underground, often near penguin and seal excrement. They spend over half of their lives, about eight months of the year, frozen.

Nicholas Teets, who leads the Insect Stress Biology Lab at the University of Kentucky, published an article last month in the Journal of Experimental Biology that reveals how Antarctic midge larvae are able to survive such extremes. By better understanding the processes at work, scientists hope that the Antarctic midges’ survival strategies — including dehydration and freezing — might have applications for the preservation of human tissues, such as organs harvested for transplants.

Researching the Antarctic midge isn’t glamorous. If you want to find one, the easiest place to look in Antarctica is where nitrogen fertilizer has accumulated. Dr. Teets and his colleagues crawl through seal and penguin guano to collect midges with spoons and bags.