Member-only story
Meet the Master of Chemical Warfare!
3 min readAug 1, 2023
The Bombardier Beetle in South Africa.
What is a Bombardier Beetle?
These are ground beetles belonging to the tribes Brachinini, Paussinni, Ozeinini, and Metriini.
These creatures are called by their name due to their distinctive defense mechanism and there are more than 500 species in total.
Size:
About 1 inch in length.
Habitat:
They inhabit all continents except Antarctica, residing in woodlands and grasslands located in temperate, moist areas.
Behavior:
Nocturnal creatures that hunt and eat meat.
Their Glands:
The vestibule has thick walls and contains a secretary cell lining, which holds catalases and peroxidases. The two glands within have compressible reservoirs with thin walls, which contain an aqueous solution of hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide.
Scientific classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia.
