Most beetles have a hard shell to protect them from their predators. But the diabolical ironclad beetle makes sure he can’t be crushed to death, not even by a car! They can withstand a weight 30,000 times greater than their own body weight.
The structures that used to be their wings before they evolved now protect their bodies. These beetles’ shells are so strong that engineers are studying them to see if they can replicate them in aircraft design.
Glow in the dark
Glowing click beetle, lantern click beetle or luminescent click beetle are common names for the Deilelater physoderus beetle.
This beetle is outstanding because he has two ‘lights’ on his head and under his abdomen that glow in the dark. As a result, he is often mistaken for a firefly, but the beetle’s ‘lights’ don’t flash like the firefly’s.
What’s that smell?
What do you do when you want to ward off predators? You ‘stink’ up a storm – just like Nicrophorus beetles, commonly called burying beetles.
Many beetles can create strong odours, but none of them are as bad as Nicrophorus beetles. It is said that they can release a smell so bad that entomologists and scientists only handle them once.
Little lady
The ladybug is actually a beetle and not a bug at all. This beetle lives on small insects, insect eggs and small spiders. They can eat up to 5,000 insects throughout their lives.
Not all ladybugs are red with black spots. Some ladybugs have stripes, while others don’t have any markings, and they come in a variety of colours. There are over 5,000 different ladybugs in the world.
