Can't crush this: Beetle armor gives clues to tougher planes

It's a beetle that can withstand bird pecks, animal stomps and even being rolled over by a Toyota Camry. “This beetle is super tough," said Purdue University civil engineer Pablo Zavattieri, who was among a group of researchers that ran over the insect with a car as part of a new study. The species — aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle — owes its might to an unusual armor that is layered and pieced together like a jigsaw, according to the study by Zavattieri and his colleagues published in Nature on Wednesday.