Beetles can escape from Toad Stomach

Zeddicuz

[br] [br][br]Bombardier beetles are remarkable insects with the ability to eject hot chemicals from their behinds as a defence mechanism. The insects store two chemical compounds, hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide, in separate compartments in their bodies. When a bombardier beetle feels threatened, it can combine the two chemicals, resulting in a rapid chemical reaction that brings their internal solution close to 100C.[br][br] [br][br]Now, new research has found the beetles are capable of employing their explosive weaponry in order to escape from the digestive systems of predators. Dr Shinji Sugiura and Dr Takuya Sato at Kobe University fed bombardier beetles, also known as Pheropsophus jessoensis, to toads to see if the insects were capable of emerging unscathed from the predators’ stomachs.[br][br]“Our experiment showed that P. jessoensis ejected hot chemicals inside the toads, thereby forcing the toads to vomit,” the researchers wrote. “Large beetles escaped more frequently than small beetles, and small toads vomited the beetles more frequently than large toads.” All the toads happily swallowed the beetles, but 43 per cent of the toads subsequently vomited the beetles back up. When they emerged, the beetles were unharmed.