I recently discovered that the Trilobite Beetle exist and I think they're pretty nifty. This one is a lady and from what I understand, even though it's technically mature, it's technically not because in this species, females never leave the larval stage. Nature's interesting like that sometimes.
You got me interested, and I was all caught up in the alien beauty of these things until... The long neck and the baby cheeks on these guys is actually too much for me, I can't stop laughing OR seeing those weird baby-faced aliens from Dr. Who! It's like someone had a perfectly good mix of bug and armor, and decided "What if we minimize the bug to spec into armor?" Now we just have pretty pieces of walking chitin. Thanks for existing, trilobite beetle!
Giraffe Weevil Hercules Beetle Tortoise Beetle Rhinoceros Beetle Beetles tend to take on some very interesting designs. Sometimes I forget how crazy they can get.
Dude. I once wrote to someone about spiders and this past year I emailed a botanist from a local university. Both got back to me in like, a week. It's kind of awesome that some researchers go out of their way to make themselves so accessible.