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The Diabolical Ironclad Beetle is one of the most resilient beings on
the planet. Its protective shell can withstand forces that would
pulverize most other living things.
In 2015, when entomologists told Jesus Rivera that a beetle found
primarily on the west coast of North America had this “superpower” that
allowed it to survive being run over by a car, he didn’t believe them.
So he staged a rudimentary experiment, laying this nondescript black
beetle on a a pillow of dirt in a parking lot and had a friend run it
over with a Toyota Camry, twice. The bug played dead afterwards, but as
he was poking it, Rivera realized it was very much alive. The bug
scientists were right, this beetle could easily survive being run over
by cars. Jesus ended up spending his doctoral career studying the
beetle’s superpower to find out what made it so strong.
The Diabolical Ironclad Beetle is not much larger than a grain of rice,
but its protective exoskeleton allows it to resists a force 39,000 times
its body weight, which scientists explain is the equivalent of a
150-pound person surviving under the weight of about 25 blue whales.
That would not only kill but jellify almost any other creature, but then
again, we don’t have a complex armor perfected over millions of years of
evolution.
The beetle’s name can be a bit misleading, as scientists found during
their testing. Unlike the scaly foot gastropod, whose shell actually
contains iron and other hard minerals, the protective shell of the
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle only contains organic components. Studying
this natural armor, they they found it was packed with proteins that
seemed to enhance its durability, and very cleverly designed.
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The beetle’s exoskeleton appeared to have evolved from a pair of
now-defunct forewings, stretching across the insect’s back and attaching
to a separate structure that shielded its belly. Under this hard
exterior was an airy buffer, which inspired researchers to compare the
beetle to an incredibly durable egg.
“You can compress the shell without the yolk, or the organs, getting
squished,” Dr. Jesus Rivera said.
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Analysis of the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle’s armor also revealed a
series of concentric layers that looked like a natural Russian doll.
This apparently allows some of the stress to be dissipated, so even if
some of the layers end up breaking under a certain degree of pressure,
the beetle itself doesn’t sustain any significant damage.
To date, there aren’t any materials that mimic the diabolical ironclad
beetle’s protective armor, but the data recently published in a new
study is expected to inspire new and innovative materials that copy both
the structure and design mother nature created.
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