Research on this unique beetle could contribute to future structural improvements.
They hide and eat mushrooms on oak trees, distributed mainly on the west coast of North America.
Unable to fling wings to escape danger, he was in turn endowed with a sturdy “armor” called the elytron. This defense is so good that they can withstand stabbing and stabbing from predators, and even rolling cars won’t die.
It has the scientific name of Phloeodes diabolicus or “devil beetle”.
Research on this is being done by the engineering team at the University of California, Irvine and Purdue. In it, scientists discover the power of the devil beetle mainly located in 2 layers of elytra along the abdomen.
The super thick and super hard crust of the Devil’s Beetles makes them “immortal” to enemies in the wild
Even the demon beetle is too strong, making it difficult for scientists to pin it down with steel needles to display specimens.
Research team member Professor Pablo Zavattieri said:
“Its shell is intertwined like a puzzle”.
By taking CT scans and methods of measuring the strength of the material, they found that the devil beetle could withstand a transplant … 39,000 times its body weight.
Correlate for easy visualization: If you weigh 68kg and have elytra shells like the devil beetle, you won’t die by 25 blue whales.
In 2015, another scientist, Jesus Rivera, led the Toyota Camry on the devil beetle. Crushed by a vehicle weighing nearly 1.6 tons, the more than 2 cm beetle was still alive. As with other insects, the handle collapsed once.
Pablo Zavattieri expects the Devil Beetle shell structure to be a good example for 3D printing. From there, improve the resilience of construction work. Nature is miraculous!
Metro UK/CNN
