an uber stir beetle in South Africa he
hunts ants eating ants they give him
more than just nourishment he may get
something else from them that helps him
fight his enemies the ants launch a
counter-attack
and nip his ankles but he simply kicks
them out of the way
the valiant ants drive him off straight
into real danger a mongoose its
inquisitive but it’s also wary of the
earth vista a black-and-white pattern is
a warning signal the beetle takes aim
and far as formic acid straight of the
mongooses eyes and mouths the beetle
probably collected this acid from the
ants it certainly makes the beetle
itself very distasteful and that in turn
makes it worth mimicking this
defenseless little lizard carries the
beetles warning pattern
it also imitates the way the beetle runs
not particularly well it’s true but well
enough to fool predators into thinking
it just might be an acid firing beetle
all kinds of insects have developed
chemical weapons a pair of devil riders
stick insects they far bitter taste the
oils terpenes European wood ants under
attack from a hungry crow they far the
sort of acid that gives nettles their
sting so this is like one of us falling
into a nettle patch
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but the master of chemical warfare is
the bombardier beetle it can create a
chemical reaction within its body so
violent that boiling caustic liquid
explodes out of its abdomen by pulsing
the jet 500 times a second it keeps its
rear end just cool enough to prevent it
being cooked
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