Borg warner Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/diabolical-ironclad-beetle-exoskeleton-armor-impossible-squish The diabolical ironclad beetle can survive getting run over by a car. Here’s how Microstructures in the beetle’s armor make it nearly impossible to squish diabolical ironclad beetle The diabolical ironclad beetle looks sort of like a rock — and it’s almost as unbreakable. Thanks to the intricate connections between different parts of the insect’s exoskeleton, this hardy beetle can withstand getting run over by a car. By Maria Temming science News The diabolical ironclad beetle is like a tiny tank on six legs. This insect’s rugged exoskeleton is so tough that the beetle can survive getting run over by cars, and many would-be predators don’t stand a chance of cracking one open. Phloeodes diabolicus is basically nature’s jawbreaker. Analyses of microscope images, 3-D printed models and computer simulations of the beetle’s armor have now revealed the secrets to its strength. Tightly interlocked and impact-absorbing structures that connect pieces of the beetle’s exoskeleton help it survive enormous crushing forces, researchers report in the Oct. 22 Nature. Those features could inspire new, sturdier designs for things such as body armor, buildings, bridges and vehicles. The diabolical ironclad beetle, which dwells in desert regions of western North America, has a distinctly hard-to-squish shape. “Unlike a stink beetle, or a Namibian beetle, which is more rounded … it’s low to the ground [and] it’s flat on top,” says David Kisailus, a materials scientist at the University of California, Irvine. In compression experiments, Kisailus and colleagues found that the beetle could withstand around 39,000 times its own body weight. That would be like a person shouldering a stack of about 40 M1 Abrams battle tanks. Within the diabolical ironclad beetle’s own tanklike physique, two key microscopic features help it withstand crushing forces. The first is a series of connections between the top and bottom halves of the exoskeleton. “You can imagine the beetle’s exoskeleton almost like two halves of a clamshell sitting on top of each other,” Kisailus says. Ridges along the outer edges of the top and bottom latch together. This slice of a diabolical ironclad beetle’s back shows the jigsaw-shaped links that connect the left and right sides of its exoskeleton. These protrusions are tightly interlocked and highly damage-resistant, helping give the beetle its incredible durability.David Kisailus But those ridged connections have different shapes across the beetle’s body. Near the front of the beetle, around its vital organs, the ridges are highly interconnected — almost like zipper teeth. Those connections are stiff and resist bending under pressure. The connective ridges near the back of the beetle, on the other hand, are not as intricately interlocked, allowing the top and bottom halves of the exoskeleton to slide past each other slightly. That flexibility helps the beetle absorb compression in a region of its body that is safer to squish. The second key feature is a rigid joint, or suture, that runs the length of the beetle’s back and connects its left and right sides. A series of protrusions, called blades, fit together like jigsaw puzzle pieces to join the two sides. These blades contain layers of tissue glued together by proteins, and are highly damage-resistant. When the beetle is squashed, tiny cracks form in the protein glue between the layers of each blade. Those small, healable fractures allow the blades to absorb impacts without completely snapping, explains Jesus Rivera, an engineer at UC Irvine. This toughness makes the diabolical ironclad beetle pretty predator-proof. An animal might be able to make a meal out of the beetle by swallowing it whole, Kisailus says. “But the way it’s built, in terms of other predation — let’s say like a bird that’s pecking at it, or a lizard that’s trying to chew on it — the exoskeleton would be really hard” to crack. That hard exterior is also a nuisance for insect collectors. The diabolical ironclad beetle is notorious among entomologists for being so fantastically durable that it bends the steel pins usually used to mount insects for display, says entomologist Michael Caterino of Clemson University in South Carolina. But “the basic biology of this thing is not particularly well-known,” he says. “I found it fascinating” to learn what makes the beetle so indestructible. The possibility of using beetle-inspired designs for sturdier airplanes and other structures is intriguing, Caterino adds. And with the splendid variety of insects all over the world, who knows what other critters might someday inspire clever engineering designs. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaBud Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Damn! That's one tough bug! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borg warner Posted December 17, 2020 Author Share Posted December 17, 2020 And I thought ticks were hard to crush! (unless they're full of blood) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fnfalman Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Now DARPA needs to weaponize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minervadoe Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 (edited) It looks like a chunk of asphalt. Edited December 18, 2020 by minervadoe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 20 hours ago, Borg warner said: And I thought ticks were hard to crush! (unless they're full of blood) If I can catch a tick I whip out my trusty pocket knife and cut the tuck in two against a thumb nail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 (edited) It's the spirit animal for 2021. Edited December 18, 2020 by Brad 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borg warner Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, railfancwb said: If I can catch a tick I whip out my trusty pocket knife and cut the tuck in two against a thumb nail. That works. And that's only one of thousands of reasons why everyone needs to carry a pocket knife. When I was a kid we used to call them "Jack knives" and every kid carried one. These days, kids aren't allowed to. Edited December 19, 2020 by Borg warner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railfancwb Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 35 minutes ago, Borg warner said: That works. And that's only one of thousands of reasons why everyone needs to carry a pocket knife. When I was a kid we used to call them "Jack knives" and every kid carried one. These days, kids aren't allowed to. Are we - including today’s children - any safer because of the ban? I seriously doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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