A sculpture of a dung beetle on top of ball of dung. The beetle, aka Onthophagus taurus, has been called the world’s strongest insect by British and Australian scientists, as it can pull 1,141 times its own body weight -- the equivalent of a 70-kilogramme (154-pound) person being able to lift 80 tonnes, the weight of six double-decker buses. (Agencies)
The world’s strongest insect is a type of male dung beetle which needs its power to be able to mate with females in animal faeces, British and Australian scientists said Wednesday.
Onthophagus taurus can pull 1,141 times its own body weight -- the equivalent of a 70-kilogramme (154-pound) person being able to lift 80 tonnes, the weight of six double-decker buses.
The extraordinary strength of many of the beetles is due to their unusual mating arrangements.
Even weaker members of the species have a compensating trait in evolutionary terms -- huge testicles which increase their chances of fertilising a female.
"Insects are well known for being able to perform amazing feats of strength and it’s all on account of their curious sex lives," said Dr Rob Knell of Queen Mary, University of London, one of the researchers.
"Female beetles of this species dig tunnels under a dung pat, where males mate with them.
"If a male enters a tunnel that is already occupied by a rival, they fight by locking horns and try to push each other out."
Knell added that some male dung beetles are smaller and weaker, but do not have to fight for female attention due to their "substantially bigger testicles".
"This suggests they sneak behind the back of the other male, waiting until he’s looking the other way for a chance to mate with the female," he said.
"Instead of growing super strength to fight for a female, they grow lots more sperm to increase their chances of fertilising her eggs and fathering the next generation."
Onthophagus taurus’s amazing feats of strength are chronicled by Knell and Professor Leigh Simmons of the University of Western Australia in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
(Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site.)英國和澳大利亞科學家本周三稱，全世界力量最大的昆蟲是一種雄性屎殼郎，這種屎殼郎需要很大的力量才能在動物糞便中與雌性屎殼郎交配。
屎殼郎可拖動相當于其身體重量1141倍的物體，這相當于一個體重70公斤(154磅)的人能舉起重達80噸的六輛雙層巴士。
很多這種屎殼郎的驚人力量源于它們特殊的交配形式。
但這一物種中即便“體質”較弱的成員在進化過程中也形成了一種補償性特質，即巨大的睪丸，這一特征會增大它們與雌性屎殼郎交配成功的幾率。
其中一名研究人員、倫敦大學瑪麗皇后學院的羅布?克奈爾博士說：“昆蟲以其驚人的力量而著稱，這主要歸因于它們奇特的交配方式。”
“該物種的雌蜣螂會在糞塊下打洞，在那里等待雄蜣螂前來與它們交配。
“如果一只雄蜣螂進入一個已經被對手占據的洞穴，它們就會用觸角抗衡，相互搏斗，努力把對方擠出去。”
克奈爾說，有一些雄蜣螂體積較小，力量較弱，但它們不需要通過搏斗來吸引雌蜣螂的注意，因為它們的“睪丸相當大”。
他說：“它們會躲在另一只雄蜣螂的背后，趁其不備時與雌蜣螂進行交配。”
“這種雄蜣螂會產生很多精子來增加讓雌蜣螂受孕的幾率，從而繁衍出下一代，而不是憑借力氣來博得雌蜣螂的青睞。”
有關屎殼郎驚人力量的研究報告由克奈爾和西澳大學的雷?西蒙斯教授共同撰寫，已在《皇家學會學報B類》上發表(譯者注：B類指的是生物科學領域)。
