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The Brachinus crepitans, or bombardier beetle, measures just 2 cm but wields a powerful chemical defense. When threatened, it mixes hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide inside its abdomen, triggering an exothermic reaction that reaches 100 °C. It ejects bursts of corrosive benzoquinones at 500 pulses per second, burning and repelling predators. This precise, repeatable mechanism has inspired research into reigniting gas turbines in aircraft under extreme conditions as low as –50 °C. Its internal valve and chamber system is now studied in chemical engineering and advanced biomimicry.

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[-] Smeagol666@mander.xyz 2 points 2 days ago

*Bombarded.

[-] oftheair@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

[Teasing] 212°F is 100°C, for anyone or anymany using proper measurement systems for temperature.

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 14 points 5 days ago

Or about 373° Kelvin for the truly enlightened.

[-] OddMinus1@sh.itjust.works 15 points 5 days ago

Or 0° Delisle if you just want to flex about knowing obscure temperature scales.

[-] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 4 points 5 days ago

I don't think Kelvin is an obscure flex, but I had never heard of Delisle. That is a weird one! Thanks for sending me down a little rabbit hole.

[-] beejboytyson@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Yes that is a flex tbh

[-] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 10 points 5 days ago

Or about 672 Rankine for the truly deranged

[-] Aceticon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 6 days ago

Only a couple more million years of natural evolution before we beetles capable of jet-powered flight...

[-] Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 6 days ago

Assblasters!

[-] tenchiken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 1 week ago

If y'all have not seen The Oatmeal's bit that includes a great piece on the bombadeer beetle, it's a treat:

https://youtu.be/ZZ_BtZ-5O60

GOD made that butthole!

[-] brem@sh.itjust.works 8 points 6 days ago

According to this theory, every action that I take in this body is a direct result of evolution; which: according to my research on humans . Is entirely correct.

[-] mectag@lemmy.world 18 points 6 days ago
[-] nailbar@sopuli.xyz 13 points 6 days ago

Heh, it sprays its own head with it. Still some space for improvement.

[-] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

They can shoot it in different directions. This one's just not very smart.

[-] octoshrimpy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

No wonder it can't keep its cool.

[-] lagoon8622@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

They nip at his ankles, but he simply kicks them away

#inspo #goals #😤😤😤

[-] gwilikers@lemmy.ml 18 points 6 days ago

Has anyone been hit by one of these guys?

[-] Bunbury@feddit.nl 16 points 6 days ago

At the very least the person the finger in the stock image belongs to

[-] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 6 days ago

the only known survivor

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

I'm sure someone has. Not me tho

[-] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago

Says online it can cause mild eye and skin irritation to humans, but nothing serious.

[-] MeatPilot@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

For a good read, look for "For the Love of Insects" by Thomas Eisner who studied the bombardier beetle. The book doesn't focus on bombardier beetles. But he does go over how he made some discovers on the bombardier beetle.

Eisner was a wonderful scientist with a fascinating perspective.

[-] plyth@feddit.org 7 points 6 days ago

How can something like this evolve?

[-] GiveOver@feddit.uk 12 points 6 days ago

Here's an attempted explanation

Quinones are produced by epidermal cells for tanning the cuticle. This exists commonly in arthropods. [Dettner, 1987]

Some of the quinones don't get used up, but sit on the epidermis, making the arthropod distasteful. (Quinones are used as defensive secretions in a variety of modern arthropods, from beetles to millipedes. [Eisner, 1970])

Small invaginations develop in the epidermis between sclerites (plates of cuticle). By wiggling, the insect can squeeze more quinones onto its surface when they're needed.

The invaginations deepen. Muscles are moved around slightly, allowing them to help expel the quinones from some of them. (Many ants have glands similar to this near the end of their abdomen. [Holldobler & Wilson, 1990, pp. 233-237])

A couple invaginations (now reservoirs) become so deep that the others are inconsequential by comparison. Those gradually revert to the original epidermis.

In various insects, different defensive chemicals besides quinones appear. (See Eisner, 1970, for a review.) This helps those insects defend against predators which have evolved resistance to quinones. One of the new defensive chemicals is hydroquinone.

Cells that secrete the hydroquinones develop in multiple layers over part of the reservoir, allowing more hydroquinones to be produced. Channels between cells allow hydroquinones from all layers to reach the reservior.

The channels become a duct, specialized for transporting the chemicals. The secretory cells withdraw from the reservoir surface, ultimately becoming a separate organ.

This stage -- secretory glands connected by ducts to reservoirs -- exists in many beetles. The particular configuration of glands and reservoirs that bombardier beetles have is common to the other beetles in their suborder. [Forsyth, 1970]

Muscles adapt which close off the reservior, thus preventing the chemicals from leaking out when they're not needed.

Hydrogen peroxide, which is a common by-product of cellular metabolism, becomes mixed with the hydroquinones. The two react slowly, so a mixture of quinones and hydroquinones get used for defense.

Cells secreting a small amount of catalases and peroxidases appear along the output passage of the reservoir, outside the valve which closes it off from the outside. These ensure that more quinones appear in the defensive secretions. Catalases exist in almost all cells, and peroxidases are also common in plants, animals, and bacteria, so those chemicals needn't be developed from scratch but merely concentrated in one location.

More catalases and peroxidases are produced, so the discharge is warmer and is expelled faster by the oxygen generated by the reaction. The beetle Metrius contractus provides an example of a bombardier beetle which produces a foamy discharge, not jets, from its reaction chambers. The bubbling of the foam produces a fine mist. [Eisner et al., 2000]

The walls of that part of the output passage become firmer, allowing them to better withstand the heat and pressure generated by the reaction.

Still more catalases and peroxidases are produced, and the walls toughen and shape into a reaction chamber. Gradually they become the mechanism of today's bombardier beetles.

The tip of the beetle's abdomen becomes somewhat elongated and more flexible, allowing the beetle to aim its discharge in various directions.
[-] plyth@feddit.org 4 points 5 days ago

I feel like being part of a setup that was created for this comment. That's more than I ever expected. Thank you very much.

[-] ohshit604@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

Why did you use a code block for a quote?

[-] trevdog@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

idk why but I kind of like to read it with random keywords highlighted and every apostrophe toggling the effect

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[-] Hirom@beehaw.org 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The same way every living thing evolve. Through millon or billion of years of mutations and natural selection.

Proof that god hates us, we didn't get explosive fart cannons.

[-] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 6 days ago

we didn’t get explosive fart cannons

speak for yourself

[-] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Right? Casual.

[-] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

What kind of spice has it eaten?

[-] Floodedwomb@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Benzo Quinones is my favorite Tejano artist.

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[-] Jamablaya@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

BOMBADEER? fuckinng western Canadian spotted.

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this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
649 points (98.8% liked)

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