Beetles can triple their strength and lift 300 times their own weight when stressed. Strength in insects is something that is not often considered, let alone studied. But watching two horned passalus beetles in conflict, especially one lifting the other to turn it over, inspired such research.

How are beetles so strong?

Like all insects, the beetles have a stiff exoskeleton, and it's possible that it is so exceptionally strong that it can bear the beetle's load without requiring much work from the muscles.

Are beetles the strongest insects?

Scientists in the SBCS have found that a species of horned dung beetle is the world's strongest insect. After months of gruelling tests, the Onthophagus tauru was found to be able to pull 1,141 times its own body weight, which is the equivalent of a human lifting six full double-decker buses.