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- TL;DR Summary
- Unusual elytra microstructure creates enormous resistance to pressure.
https://www.livescience.com/unbreakable-beetle.html
Want to read the paper?
Note: use this link above, scroll down, to get a referring link to Nature. I cannot make it work here, you have to go there to see the paper
These bark beetles, Phloeodes diabolicus (Nosoderma diabilocus), can literally survive being run over by an automobile tire. It is a survival mechanism to avoid predation by birds like woodpeckers. There may be some practical applications of the unique internal structure of the elytra - the very, very hard forewings that changed function from flying to armor.
See: pictures and other information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosoderma_diabolicum (Note different genus name, same bug. Biology has a taxonomic issue called 'nomen confusum' -- which you can get the gist of without knowing Latin.)
Want to read the paper?
Note: use this link above, scroll down, to get a referring link to Nature. I cannot make it work here, you have to go there to see the paper
These bark beetles, Phloeodes diabolicus (Nosoderma diabilocus), can literally survive being run over by an automobile tire. It is a survival mechanism to avoid predation by birds like woodpeckers. There may be some practical applications of the unique internal structure of the elytra - the very, very hard forewings that changed function from flying to armor.
See: pictures and other information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosoderma_diabolicum (Note different genus name, same bug. Biology has a taxonomic issue called 'nomen confusum' -- which you can get the gist of without knowing Latin.)