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The diabolical ironclad beetle can survive getting run over by a car. Scientists now know how. The diabolical ironclad beetle, a desert bug native to California, can withstand nearly 40,000 times its body weight. That means it can be run over by a car — and live to tell the tale.  A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature has pinpointed the factor that makes it so durable: Its exoskeleton, and in particular, its elytra, or the forewings that cover the beetle's wings. "The ironclad is a terrestrial beetle, so it's not lightweight and fast but built more like a little tank," David Kisailus, the principal investigator and a materials science and engineering professor at the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement. "It can't fly away, so it just stays put and lets its specially designed armor take the abuse until the predator gives up." Cicadas and Palo Verde beetles? Harmless.  But these Arizona bugs and reptiles can hurt you. In beetl...