So far, Antarctica seems to have only one insect fauna - the Antarctic midge (Belgica antarctica). This tiny (2-6 mm) fly has no wings (an adaptation made to prevent it from being blown away by the wind), and the maggots spend two years growing from microscopic algae and moss on land. Drawing on meager nutrients to survive their life cycle.
Midges survive the winter by over-accumulating sugar in their bodies, which acts as a natural antifreeze, and by dehydrating themselves to prevent the formation of cell-rupturing ice crystals.
It then enters a hibernating torpor under a warm layer of snow to stay above its survival threshold of minus 15°C. Because the fly remains on the continent year-round (unlike birds that visit during the summer), it is also the largest permanent land animal in Antarctica.
