different plant extracts into their food to see if any of them can alleviate the symptoms of these i'm told mcqueary it the researchers then cut test strips for the insects to climb up this is what the beatles do naturally as they explore their environment the induced parkinson's symptoms slow their movements and make them unsteady. the scientists are looking to see which group of beetles climbs the highest in one minute. the theory goes that the strongest climbers have ingested a substance that best mitigates the parkinson's symptoms. the differences are clear to see some beetles are vigorous climbers while others move hardly at all the best response comes from beetles that ingested drugs that are already used to treat parkinson's disease but vitamin c. and a chinese tea extract also demonstrate positive results so it's an insect based system for finding new pharmaceutical substances. while some insects serve as test subjects in the development of new drugs others actually contain fascinating substances themselves one example was the lady. a single lady bug will consume thousands of a food's in its