When renowned British geneticist J. B. S. Haldane was asked what could be inferred about God from a study of his works, Haldane replied, “An inordinate fondness for beetles.”  (I have written about Haldane in an earlier column.) With literally thousands of known species, and scientific estimates that millions more have yet to be identified, their abundance is indisputable as is their variety.  They range from the delightful summer firefly to the 100-gram Goliath beetle.

Beetles offer a dazzling array of shapes, sizes, and colors that entice scientists and collectors across the globe.   According to Patrice Bouchard’s  "The Book of Beetles," “ Beetles are an exceptionally diverse group of organisms that impact our agriculture, forestry, culture, and science. Their seemingly endless variations in structure (e.g., the male Atlas Beetle, Chalcosoma atlas) and adaptations to microhabitat have captivated humans for centuries. Beetles of the order Coleoptera, with nearly 400,000 described species, comprise one of the most diverse and important groups of animals on Earth. As such, coleopterists, biologists who specialize in the study of beetles, have a view of the natural world with a degree of resolution that is seldom seen through the study of other organisms.”  One out of every five species of plants and animals is a beetle. Despite their riot of forms, colors, patterns, and behaviors, all beetles share a select suite of physical attributes, the most conspicuous of which are the leathery or hardened forewings, or elytra (wing cases). Depending on the species, elytra can help stabilize beetles in flight, protect their delicate hind wings and internal organs, conserve precious bodily fluids, capture bubbles of air underwater, and insulate them from extreme temperatures.

Beetles communicate with one another through physical, chemical, or visual means, usually to locate a mate. Although most species engage in sexual reproduction, a few reproduce asexually by cloning themselves, a process known as parthenogenesis. Among beetles, limited parental care of the young is the exception, not the rule. The larvae and adults eat a variety of organisms, living and dead, especially plants. Those that prefer leaves, flowers, fruits, needles, cones, and roots can inflict serious damage to food stores, gardens, crops, and managed timber. Some predatory beetles are used as biological control agents against agricultural or forestry pests, while scavenger species provide an essential service to clean study skeletons in natural-history collections around the globe.

One beetle just received special attention.  The diabolical Ironclad beetle survived being run over twice by a 3500 pound Toyota truck. Evolution has given Phloeodes diabolicus (the genus and species name) an exterior that can hold its own against a force 39,000 times body weight — the equivalent of a 150 pound man resisting the crush of 25 blue whales. The force generated would jellify a human.  The impressive armor of these insects, found primarily on the west coast of North America, most likely evolved to allow the flightless, fungus munching bugs to safely wiggle under rocks and fend off the pecks and nips of birds and rodents. Understanding what makes the beetle so diabolical and ironclad could aid in the development of synthetic materials for use in construction or aeronautics.  A recent study published in Nature described the toughening mechanisms involved in the beetle’s impressive properties.  Using advances microscopy, spectroscopy and mechanical testing, the researchers identified multiscale architectural designs within the exoskeleton of the beetle and examined the resulting mechanical response and toughening.  They identified a series of interdigitated sutures, an ellipsoidal geometry and laminated microstructure which provide mechanical interlocking and toughening at critical strains, while avoiding failure.  According to the authors, these observations could be applied in developing tough, impact- and crush-resistant materials for joining dissimilar materials.

Another beetle serves a major environmental purpose.  Dung beetles don’t just bring ecological balance and economic advantage; they demonstrate some of the most remarkable behaviors in the insect kingdom, including mating and nesting instincts usually only seen in birds and mammals. Consider the dung-roller scarabs, revered by the Ancient Egyptians and the subjects of many a film documentary. Their claim to fame is their mad scramble to get enough of a dropping after it has dropped. There are verified accounts of 4,000 dung beetles arriving at a pint-sized sample of elephant dung within 15 minutes, and 16,000 beetles spiriting away three pounds of the dung in under two hours.

Having sculpted out a tennis ball-sized morsel of dung, a pair of rollers — male and female — work together to get it away from the competition as quickly as possible. They set off in a dead straight line, using the sun’s light to navigate. If they meet an obstacle or barrier they may deviate briefly, but once the way ahead is clear, they resume their original heading.

Some species have super-sensitive eyes adapted to using the moon’s light, which means they can work the night shift. Others can detect the direction of the sunlight’s rays even though it has sunk below the horizon. Experiments in an arena in the Johannesburg Planetarium show that some can also navigate using the faint glow of the Milky Way.

Max Sherman is a medical writer and pharmacist retired from the medical device industry.  His new book “Science Snippets” is available from Amazon and other book sellers. It contains a number of previously published columns.  He can be reached by email at  [email protected].