Quilting the Beetle
While this might look like the pattern on a quilt, this is actually a magnified image of the pattern on the hardened forewings of a beetle. These wings are not used for flying but instead protect the flight wings from damage.
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DownloadQuilting the Beetle
While this might look like the pattern on a quilt, this is actually a magnified image of the pattern on the hardened forewings of a beetle. These wings are not used for flying but instead protect the flight wings from damage.
What am I looking at?
This is an image of the pattern on the elytron (hardened forewing) of a reticulated beetle (Tenomerga cinerea). You can see several of the pits that cover the elytra of this beetle (1), giving it its name. You can also see several smaller ridged structures in tan (2) and red (3).
Biology in the Background
Reticulated beetles live all over the world outside of the Arctic and Antarctic zones. They are small, elongated beetles that are known for the pattern of lines and “windows” on their elytra which gives them their name. They are a very old family of beetles, with some extinct species dating back to the Triassic period. They lay their eggs in rotting wood. The larva hatch and eat the wood as they grow into adults. As adults, they eat mainly plant sap or pollen.
The elytra that we see here are wings, but they are not used for flight. These wings have hardened and cover the softer, more fragile flight wings when the beetle is not airborne. The elytra also cover most of the top half of the body, making them seem as if they are part of the insect's exoskeleton.
These beetles can grow up to 20 millimeters long, about the width of your thumbnail.
Technique
This image was created using scanning electron microscopy.
Igor Siwanowicz, HHMI's Janelia Research Campus