Tweet
The diabolical ironclad beetle is one tough critter, as its name might suggest.
Equipped with super-tough body armour, the insect can survive being stamped on or even run over by a car.
Now scientists have investigated the secrets of how the beetle can withstand forces up to 39,000 times its body weight.
And the findings could give clues to building tougher materials for use in construction and aeronautics.
The research, published in the journal Nature, could lead to "tough, impact- and crush-resistant materials", says a team led by David Kisailus of the University of California, Irvine.
The diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) is found mainly in the US and Mexico, where it lives under the bark of trees or beneath rocks. The beetle has one of the toughest exoskeletons of any known insect.
Early insect collectors became aware of this when trying to mount specimens to boards with standard steel pins. Their pins bent and snapped, and they had to resort to a drill to penetrate the tough outer casing.
The beetle, having lost the ability to fly away from danger, has evolved crush-resistant forewings (known as elytra), to survive being pecked to death by hungry birds.
(...)
Equipped with super-tough body armour, the insect can survive being stamped on or even run over by a car.
Now scientists have investigated the secrets of how the beetle can withstand forces up to 39,000 times its body weight.
And the findings could give clues to building tougher materials for use in construction and aeronautics.
The research, published in the journal Nature, could lead to "tough, impact- and crush-resistant materials", says a team led by David Kisailus of the University of California, Irvine.
The diabolical ironclad beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) is found mainly in the US and Mexico, where it lives under the bark of trees or beneath rocks. The beetle has one of the toughest exoskeletons of any known insect.
Early insect collectors became aware of this when trying to mount specimens to boards with standard steel pins. Their pins bent and snapped, and they had to resort to a drill to penetrate the tough outer casing.
The beetle, having lost the ability to fly away from danger, has evolved crush-resistant forewings (known as elytra), to survive being pecked to death by hungry birds.
(...)
Where's the mobile infantry when you need'em???
Comment