Hard copy

It's a tough life, being a beetle. When you’re not eating or trying to make little beetles, you’re having to fend off attacks from all sorts of hostile wildlife who see you as a crunchy snack. And for that you need strong, lightweight armour. Humans, of course, have been trying to crack the secret of this armour for many years — and now a team from Kansas State University believes it has found the key.

Researcher Michael Kanost explained that the project, to find out how beetle armour changes from a soft, white substance after the insect has shed its shell into a tough, dark material, has two goals. The first is for pest control — preventing the shell from hardening would be a good way to control insect pests. The second involves using the findings to mimic the beetle armour, developing strong, lightweight materials for use in medical applications, aircraft and armour.