Super Swole Beetle Can Survive Getting Run Over By Car

Super Swole Beetle Can Survive Getting Run Over By Car

By RZW

Able to survive being run over by a car, the diabolical ironclad beetle (what a name), also known as Phloeodes diabolicus, is able to withstand forces up to 39,000 times its body weight. For context, that’s like if Dwayne “the Rock” Johson was completely unharmed after being run over by 40 buses stacked on top of each other. This discovery is important, as the strength of the exoskeleton can be beneficial in making stronger buildings, bridges, and vehicles. So how is this beetle so swole? Researchers have recently found some answers. 

Normally, beetles have a pair of elytra, the hard outer wings, that sit on top of their softer wings to protect them when they are not flying.  What makes the diabolical ironclad beetle unique is that its elytra fits together in jigsaw-like suture that are able to resist from being crushed. Not only that, but the sutures are also flexible so that the beetle can flatten itself and absorb compression. At the price of being almost indestructible, however, the diabolical ironclad beetle cannot fly with its connected elytra, but hey, you can’t always have everything. 

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEWJ1EdpGbE 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/diabolical-ironclad-beetle-exoskeleton-armor-impossible-squish  

Image Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02840-1