A small beetle of genus Brachinus. As a protective mechanism, adults fire clouds of caustic vapour, expelled by an explosion caused by mixing chemicals in glands at the rear end of the body. It can fire repeatedly at short intervals. (Order: Coleoptera. Family: Carabidae.)
| ?Bombardier beetles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Brachinus species |
||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Tribes | ||||||||||
|
Brachinini |
Bombardier Beetles are ground beetles (Carabidae) in the tribes Brachinini, Paussini, Ozaenini, or Metriini—more than 500 species altogether—that are most notable for the defense mechanism that gives them their name: They can fire a mixture of chemicals from special glands in their posterior.
Intelligent design
Bombardier beetles have come to public attention in recent years largely because of arguments put forward by creationists, particularly in the children's book Bomby the Bombardier Beetle. The book argues that the beetles' internal design is an example of irreducible complexity, because various components needed to make the system work appear to provide no benefit in themselves, meaning the entire system would have to be created at once.
Darwin's experience
During Charles Darwin's education at the University of Cambridge he became involved in a national craze for the competitive collecting of beetles.
User Comments Add a comment…