Scientists Just Discovered How Beetle 'Weapons' Grow

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Mandibles of a Male Gnatocerus cornutus Beetle
"Knock-down" of insulin-like peptide 2 (ILP2) causes a significant reduction in the size of the mandibles of a male Gnatocerus cornutus beetle. Credit: Tokyo Metropolitan University

Specific insulin-like peptide regulates how beetle 'weapons' grow, revealing how larval nutrition leads to differently sized mandibles in broad-horned flour beetles.