20/03/2025
THE IRONCLAD BEETLE - BUILT LIKE A TANK
Even though the first instinct when you see a bug is to step on it and just get rid of it, there's an insect so indestructible that most wouldn't be able to kill it. The Ironclad Beetle is so incredibly strong that running it over with your car wouldn't even kill it.
It can with stand 39,000 times its own body weight!
This is the equivalent of a regular sized human withstanding the weight of 280 double decker buses. To actually crush this beetle requires 149 newtons of force, which, if you don’t speak fluent physics, is 7.5 times stronger than the force you can muster by squeezing something between your thumb and index finger.
Scientists were so curious as to how the little bug was so strong, and what they found is that the sides of its shell, its joint structure, are put together like interlocking jigsaw puzzle pieces. These connection points contain proteins and are highly damage resistant. When the beetle is squished, proteins form a glue in between these fractured areas and keep the bug from being hurt in the future as it heals. Some of these connections act as springs and shock absorbers.
It has inspired scientists to check into building stronger turbine engines and aerospace structures that it even outperformed in terms of quality craftsmanship.
It can play dead, and will try to look like a small rock to avoid predators. It has intelligence also!
