(including Leishmania and Plasmodium, which cause

leishmaniasis and malaria) and some bacteria

(including mycobacteria, which cause leprosy

and tuberculosis).

As well as antimicrobial chemicals, some

large Staphylinidae and Silphidae also secrete

substances that are very unpleasant to vertebrate

scavengers such as dogs, to prevent them from

eating the carrion in which the beetles are

breeding. Such substances might potentially

be copied to make deterrents for mammals, for

example to keep foxes away from a chicken house.

Insects that have conquered the most

inhospitable environments on earth are a rich

seam of models for biomimetics. Beetles in the

Namib desert survive the dry conditions by

fog basking: harvesting water vapor from the

atmosphere during brief fogs and condensing

it on their exoskeleton. Through biomimetics,

synthetic surfaces that imitate this complex

structure can extract water vapor from the

atmosphere, a technology that can be used for

self-filling bottles in arid regions, or removing

excess humidity from places where it is not

wanted, such as inside electronics.

harnessed for a similar purpose. This can result

in the refinement of existing technologies or the

development of new ones. Since beetles are so

diverse, and have adapted to so many different

habitats and ways of life, they are an obvious

place to search.

One of the greatest breakthroughs of this

kind (although not linked to beetles) was the

discovery of penicillin from a toxin produced by

mold fungi to kill competing bacteria, which led

to a wide range of antibiotics. Many carrion-

feeding beetles have a similar need to prevent

microbial activity, for example burying beetles

of the genus Nicrophorus treat the carcasses on

which they rear their larvae with antibacterial

substances, to slow down decay. Knowing the

biology of beetles, and which ones actively

compete for resources with bacteria or fungi,

may indicate a fruitful place to search for new

generations of antibacterial or antifungal

substances. Recent studies have synthesized

a chemical based on harmonine, a defensive

secretion of a ladybug. This chemical was shown

in the laboratory to be effective against some

agents of human diseases, such as protozoans

right | Harmonia

axyridis (Coccinellidae)

The Asian Harlequin

Ladybug is invasive

in Europe and the

USA, but its defensive

chemical harmonine

has considerable

medical potential.