"Future of a Central American Space Program Rides on the Wings of One Shiny Beetle"
"With its shimmering exoskeleton, the Costa Rican jewel scarab has always looked like a space age robot. But now scientists believe the beetle’s reflective properties may actually be useful in outer space—and back on Earth, it could be instrumental to the expansion of Central America’s only space program.
The scarab, known as Chrysina aurigans, can reflect circularly polarized light. On Earth, this superpower makes the beetle nearly invisible to predators. In space, it may help them resist radiation from the Sun."