This Beetle Folds Its Wings Like Origami in Just Over a Second

Who is the beetle that can fold its delicate wings into an origami shape, keeping them safely tucked away as it scampers through dirt and debris? Scientists have long been fascinated by the intricate manner in which rove beetles fold up their wings. Dr. Adrian Smith at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences captured the amazing sight and posted it on his YouTube channel, @AntLab. Let’s find out exactly how this fascinating feat of nature works.

About Rove Beetles

Rove beetles are insects in the Staphylinidae family. There are around 4,000 different species of rove beetles in North America. It’s the largest family of beetles on the continent. Around the world, there are over 60,000 species of rove beetles. These beetles are ancient insects, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. Rove beetles are small, usually around 3/4 inch long, although some may be smaller than 1/4 inch. Many species of rove beetles are nocturnal, although some are active during the day.

Some rove beetles are predatory and very beneficial to gardens and crops. In fact, some gardeners like to purchase populations of rove beetles to release in their gardens and greenhouses to control soil pests. Rove beetles eat a variety of pests, including mites, root maggot eggs and larvae, and mosquito larvae. Other rove beetle species are equally beneficial, acting as scavengers with a diet of dead or rotting vegetation or animal matter.

The Intricate Wings of a Rove Beetle

Rove beetles are fast-moving insects and excellent fliers. They have two sets of wings. The front wings are small, hardened, and reddish brown. Underneath these wings lies a second set of wings that the beetle uses to fly. This flexible, membranous set of wings stays neatly folded until it’s needed. When the beetle is ready to take to the air, it rapidly opens its wings and takes flight.

The close-up video of the rove beetle spreading its wings reveals that the wings fold over on themselves multiple times. It’s somewhat like a complex piece of origami. Dr. Smith not only filmed a rove beetle unveiling its wings but also the fascinating manner in which it folds them back up.

A Rove Beetle Folds Its Wings Asymmetrically

To get his footage, Dr. Smith used a light trap setup to capture rove beetles in Florida. As he filmed rove beetles folding up their wings, he observed that they were using their abdomen to push their wings from side to side for the first few folds. “The wings fold together as a single unit but asymmetrically, each in a different orientation than the other,” he explained in the video.

He continued, “The second push of the abdomen is from behind and starts to cram the wings underneath the protective elytra. The third push is swinging the abdomen back to the side and folding the wings so that the tips point sideways relative to the body. The fourth and fifth pushes complete the last few folds, finishing the process of tucking the wings completely underneath the elytra and out of harm’s way.”

Even more fascinating, it doesn’t matter which side the rove beetle starts from. The beetle can start from either side because, according to Dr. Smith, “each wing has two sets of folding patterns built into it.”

How Fast Can a Beetle Fold Its Wings?

The video is filmed in slow motion to reveal all the details. If we watched it in real time, the intricate steps would be much too fast to see. In real-time, Dr. Smith observed that the beetles could fold and store their wings in 1.2 to 1.4 seconds.

What Is the Advantage of Asymmetric Wing Folding?

Rove beetles need to keep their delicate wings protected because they live in soil and do a lot of burrowing underneath debris. They keep their wings folded and out of the way until they need to fly, usually to find a mate, to escape a predator, or to find food.

The rove beetle’s specialized wing folding is captivating not only to entomologists but also to aerospace and mechanical engineers. Imagine a man-made vehicle that could fold up wings as efficiently as the rove beetle and deploy them as quickly. According to a research study on rove beetles conducted in 2014, “The use of asymmetric patterns and the capability of two-way folding are unique features not found in artificial structures.”

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