Science Visualized Animals

These tiny beetles fly fast thanks to wing bristles and a weird, wide stroke

Here’s how the miniature insects match the speed of beetles three times as big

black and white image of a Paratuposa placentis beetle

Studying one of the smallest featherwing beetles, Paratuposa placentis (shown in this microscope image), revealed that the insect’s bristled wings are key to its unique flight style.

S. Farisenkov et al/Nature 2022 (CC BY 4.0)

By Jake Buehler

- More than 2 years ago

Featherwing beetles are some of the world’s smallest flying insects.