Diabolical Ironclad Beetle Could Contribute With Engineering Problems
DIABOLICAL IRONCLAD BEETLE – The diabolical ironclad beetle, which could survive being run over by a car, could be the key to solving engineering problems.
According to a report from CNN, researchers from Purdue University and the University of California, who are developing new materials are studying this super beetle.
They are studying the beetle, scientifically named Nosoderma diabolicum (formerly Phloeodes diabolicus), in order to understand the secret behind its strength.
Pablo D. Zavattieri, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue and a study author said that any beetle can be crushed and killed by human hands, unlike this super beetle, which he said that not even the tire of a car is strong enough to even kill it.
“If you take any beetle, and you want to collapse it with your finger, you can probably kill it,”
“This beetle (Phloeodes diabolicus) is so tough that the energy or the force that you can do with your hand, it’s not enough — it’s like a piece of rock,”
“The tire of a car is not enough to collapse it.”
The findings were published in Nature on Wednesday. They wanted to understand the secret behind its strength, added that they aim to create it in construction materials.
They were able to identify the architectural designs within the creature’s exoskeleton via advanced microscopy, spectroscopy and in situ mechanical testing.
The secret behind the super beetle’s unlikely strength lies in its armor, according to the results. The beetle has two armorlike “elytron” — used in flying beetles to deploy wings. The elytra meet at a line, called a suture, running the length of its abdomen.
This help distribute applied force more evenly throughout the insect’s body. Zavattieri said that the suture acts like a jigsaw puzzle, connecting the creature’s various exoskeletal blades in the abdomen. These lock to prevent themselves from pulling out, based on the report.
If it is broken, another protective mechanism also allows for the blades to deform slowly. Which prevents a sudden release of energy that would otherwise snap the beetle’s neck.
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