Meet the bombardier beetle: A tiny insect that packs an outsized punch
Say hello to the bombardier beetle.
This little insect may look harmless, but it packs a serious punch.
If attacked, the beetle can spark a chemical reaction that will spray out a hot liquid, burning its assailant, according to a new post and documentary from KQED Science.
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See it for yourself.
The sting of the bombardier can fend off larger would-be predators like birds, and even kill smaller attackers.
For example, it's pretty clear that the spider below really had no idea what it was in for when it tried to make the a meal out of the beetle.
The beetle's "explosion chamber" is extraordinarily powerful.
"If the beetle’s explosion chamber were the size of the inside of a car, the blast would release about the same energy as about two pounds of TNT," Eric Arndt, a doctoral student who has studied these beetles, told KQED.
The little beetle is also pretty photogenic.
The beetle is smaller than you might think.
And the explosion is quick, but painful for its prey.
The beetles' liquid defense is created using some special chemistry.
The spray is made of three ingredients: hydroquinone, hydrogen peroxide and an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction, KQED reports.
When those materials come together, the liquid reaches its boiling point and the beetle shoots it out, aiming it at its aggressor.
"The use of these chemicals isn’t that unusual in the beetle family tree,” Kipling Will, a professor of insect biology, told KQED.
"There are at least four major sub-families of beetles that produce the same kinds of compounds. The bombardier isn’t some weird, unique thing."
In other words, the next time you see a beetle, be ready for an explosion.
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Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
