An Asparagus Beetle

Although the asparagus plant is covered with wax crystals, which make the branches practically unwettable and keep things from sticking, somehow the asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi) manages to glue its eggs to these branches. Recently, scientists in Germany have figured out how the beetle does it. Dagmar Voigt of the Max-Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart and Stanislav Gorb of the University of Kiel say it secretes a compound, probably containing proteins, that has surfactant qualities - it spreads out rather than beading up. The compound forms a composite with the wax crystals, and as it dries it forms a glue that keeps the egg stuck. That is pretty amazing how these little beetles work their way to survive.
Link: www.nytimes.com /science