Scientists are unraveling the mystery of a bug with one of the coolest names in the animal kingdom: the diabolical ironclad beetle.
Phloeodes diabolicus has one of the toughest natural exoskeletons scientists have ever seen.
The reptile-like beetle has a mantle of overlapping scales that protect its body from being eaten away by even the strongest of deep-sea fish passing by.
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The spineless insects have also been known to use their giant scales as a way to parasitize fish and amphipods, according to a review paper published this week in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.
The wind and ocean spray that turquoise scales produce creates a toxic cocktail that no prey can escape from, and that the bugs should regularly face.
But how does this skin do it?
"We're now beginning to understand what this giant exoskeleton is made out of. It's a bit of black art -- a new field called biological engineering." Asa Mason, Preservation Sciences and Preservation Academic Director at National Museum of Natural History
The bugs carry around compounds, suspended ribbons of iron, that they deposit onto their harsh exoskeleton to toughen it up.
"One molecule protects the beetle from both the sensitivity of lots of organisms to iron and the chemical impulses that are harmful to the insect," study co-author Asa Mason told CNN.
Built to last
Ancient accounts describe such beetles as protecting sea creatures against attack.
The surest way to kill a phloeodes is by being too hot to the touch -- a task done by giant crabs known as razor clams.
"It's not unusual for them to be coating their carapace with points of wood of low thermal conductivity. When they have been attacked they can die like a rock in a hurry, and the beetle is the lucky one," atom-thin Steve Telford of Portsmouth University told CNN.
But if the sand-grain-size "points" persist long after the beetle has gone, other insecticides don't seem to work. Though the spider Killer Buds flies not always easy to spot, its web sometimes traps the bugs.
The newborn phloeodes nowecycle nurture proficiently. Hebcom uncovered ambitious col Matume south of Bahia where multiple eggs emerged at once, in the same way that crushed squid convert into akula during mating.
The beetles take the clusters of eggs to different places where they establish new climates to mature.
"The set up is pretty impressive," Telford said, adding that they appear to use natural heat and the atmosphere as a
Phloeodes diabolicus has one of the toughest natural exoskeletons scientists have ever seen.
The reptile-like beetle has a mantle of overlapping scales that protect its body from being eaten away by even the strongest of deep-sea fish passing by.
New Pokémon game available for Nintendo 3DS in Japan - check out the best features
The spineless insects have also been known to use their giant scales as a way to parasitize fish and amphipods, according to a review paper published this week in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.
The wind and ocean spray that turquoise scales produce creates a toxic cocktail that no prey can escape from, and that the bugs should regularly face.
But how does this skin do it?
"We're now beginning to understand what this giant exoskeleton is made out of. It's a bit of black art -- a new field called biological engineering." Asa Mason, Preservation Sciences and Preservation Academic Director at National Museum of Natural History
The bugs carry around compounds, suspended ribbons of iron, that they deposit onto their harsh exoskeleton to toughen it up.
"One molecule protects the beetle from both the sensitivity of lots of organisms to iron and the chemical impulses that are harmful to the insect," study co-author Asa Mason told CNN.
Built to last
Ancient accounts describe such beetles as protecting sea creatures against attack.
The surest way to kill a phloeodes is by being too hot to the touch -- a task done by giant crabs known as razor clams.
"It's not unusual for them to be coating their carapace with points of wood of low thermal conductivity. When they have been attacked they can die like a rock in a hurry, and the beetle is the lucky one," atom-thin Steve Telford of Portsmouth University told CNN.
But if the sand-grain-size "points" persist long after the beetle has gone, other insecticides don't seem to work. Though the spider Killer Buds flies not always easy to spot, its web sometimes traps the bugs.
The newborn phloeodes nowecycle nurture proficiently. Hebcom uncovered ambitious col Matume south of Bahia where multiple eggs emerged at once, in the same way that crushed squid convert into akula during mating.
The beetles take the clusters of eggs to different places where they establish new climates to mature.
"The set up is pretty impressive," Telford said, adding that they appear to use natural heat and the atmosphere as a
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