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Now, 3D scans have revealed that layered structures in its interlocking wing cases make the beetle twice as hardy as some of its relatives — and could inspire engineers to create more durable designs.

Birds were up to three times less likely to find worms in the iridescent wing cases than in the noniridescent ones, the team reports today in Current Biology.

The blueberry-size, long-legged insect leans its bumpy body into the wind, letting droplets of fog accumulate and drip down its wing case into its mouth.

Like other beetles, fireflies have a pair of hardened wing cases, called elytra, that the wings fold underneath.

His dæmon, a large and iridescent green-backed beetle, clicked her wing cases.