Beetle

East of U.S. 50, where it climbs away from Lake Tahoe, an eyeful of distant ridges covered in a soft green carpet of pine and fir trees has served up a visual treat to many summertime motorists in the Sierra Nevada. Splotches of reddish-brown stain the vista this summer, dabbed on the green background as haphazardly as on a painter's dropcloth. It is the burnt-red color of dead trees, and can be found dappled on nearly all the evergreen forests of the Sierra range and Southern California.

Eating delicacies like unagi (freshwater eel) -- or anything else that's not red meat and/or potato-based -- is difficult enough for some. So how do those "Fear Factor" contestants dive into buffalo testicles, stink beetles and sheep eyes, et al? According to "The Reality TV Handbook," a new guide to navigating the genre from the inside, it's relatively easy.

The windshield of Dave Hawks' 1994 Toyota 4Runner is splattered yellow, but Hawks doesn't mind. He's speeding north on U.S. 395, past Adelanto, Boron and Ridgecrest and running the wipers would only make matters worse. Besides, it's now a point of discussion. "It's all the fat in their bodies," he says, explaining why this butterfly -- the painted lady -- makes such a distinctive impression. "They need that fat for energy because they have such a long migration."

Federal officials won't put a dune-dwelling beetle on the endangered species list. An environmental group that petitioned to add the Andrews' dune scarab beetle to the endangered species list failed to sufficiently back its claims, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday. The group said the beetle lives only in the Algodones Dunes in Imperial County, where off-road vehicles are permitted.

A rare beetle believed to live only in Santa Cruz County has taken another step toward protection as an endangered species. A tentative agreement Wednesday between environmental groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put the Ohlone tiger beetle on a list of 29 species the government will study to see if protection under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. The bug spawned a lawsuit seeking protection.

Is the new Volkswagen Beetle's bulbous wide girth ["VW's New Version of 'Bug' Off to a Fast Start in the U.S.," Feb. 26] meant to symbolize the current shape of its former yuppie owners? HOWIE KEEFE Marina del Rey

German auto maker Volkswagen said Monday that its worldwide monthly unit sales fell for the first time in three years, even as the redesigned Beetle helped North American sales surge about 48% to 23,800. VW said its January sales fell 3% to 320,500 from January 1997. But the company also said its 1997 fourth-quarter profit surged 238% to $278 million, boosted by the success of updated models, as it canceled plans to sell 3 million new shares to investors.

An unusual series of pictures, one of them shown above, reveals a bombardier beetle directing a stream of hot, irritating chemicals in response to an attack. The beetle cannot deploy its wings rapidly to fly away from an assault by ants or other predators. So it has developed the hot, stinging spray that is ejected at 212 degrees Fahrenheit and contains toxins such as hydrogen peroxide and irritating quinones. Mixing the chemicals generates the heat.

Superior Industries Inc. was awarded a contract from Volkswagen to supply aluminum wheels for the company's new VW Beetle. Superior will manufacture the wheels at its Chihuahua, Mexico, plant beginning in the middle of this year. Superior, which is based in Van Nuys, is a major supplier of aluminum wheels to the Big 3 auto makers, plus European and Japanese car makers, although this latest contract marks its first deal to supply aluminum wheels to Volkswagen.

The Bug isn't only cute, it's tough. The New Beetle easily trumped 11 small-car competitors with the strength of its front and rear bumpers in slow-speed crash test results released today. The Beetle sustained $134 in total damages from four crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an insurance research group. The second-place finisher, the Saturn SL2, had damages nearly five times more costly.