Bombardier (beetle): description

Nature is the creator of all life on Earth. Its creation is unique and beautiful. Sometimes very tiny and harmless creatures can amaze with their capabilities, the presence of which no one even guessed.

An example here is an unusual insect called a bombardier (beetle) from a subfamily of ground beetles.

Description

This small specimen in appearance is not noticeable: red legs, antennae, head and back of black color. The length of the beetle is only a few mm and up to 3 cm. For comparison: a creature of this size can fit on the fingernail of the human index finger. But the insect acquired its name and fame thanks to an extraordinary protective device. During the threat of a ground beetle, black launches a scorching poisonous fountain in the direction of the attacker. In ancient times it was believed that only such a God could produce such an explosive mixture, which can reside in the body of a living organism.

How does this secret arise?

In the inner area of the abdomen of the beetle there are two containers with separate glands, which release hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide, which are characterized by toxic and odorous properties. When an insect is in danger, the reagents penetrate through the canals into the right reservoir, where they begin interaction with the catalysts, and at the end a toxic and hot solution is formed. Its temperature reaches 100 degrees.

Through the moving tail from the edge of the abdomen, the bombardier (beetle) aims and starts a jet of burning liquid. The impact lasts only an instant - from 8 to 17 ms, and the eruption speed - 10 ms, and all this is accompanied by piercing sounds. This is enough to frighten the predator, who will not only run away, but also for a long time will remember the gunshot of an insect that left palpable burns. Reagents have a reserve of 10-30 volleys, which then end.

Types of beetles

About 25,000 of them are known in the animal kingdom; More than 3000 live in Russia. The scorers are among the most tiny specimens of the beetle family. Some species of these bugs do not fly well or have completely lost this ability, since their wings are either tiny or not at all, and the elytra (under them wings should hide) can grow to their back. But the individuals run well. Insects in Eurasia are popular, especially in forest territory, which is found in foliage and in the soil, feeding on snails, larvae and worms.

Ground beetle

An ordinary bug beetle is a harmful insect measuring 12-17 mm in size. The body of these insatiable parasites differs pitch-black color and has a pale metallic outflow. Their bright wings are provided with small deep hollows, and the legs and tendrils are painted in brownish-black tones.

Bread ground beetle can be found, as a rule, in the steppe, forest-steppe and southern outskirts of Polissya. The main feed of larvae of beetles is the ladders of winter plants. A common mare with an enormous desire eats young leaves of small shoots so that only streaks remain from them. In those areas where pests of larvae live, the plant world for the most part perishes. This has a very negative effect on the amount of harvest.

How eggs are deposited

The scorers are unique not only at the mature stage of formation, but also in the early stages too. The female lays eggs in tiny balls made of mud and located near the lake. In them, she puts 1 egg each, and then places them on an adjacent branch or stone. Over time, the larvae outwardly appear somewhat similar to a short centipede with a radiant, segmented corpuscle and slightly with a caterpillar.

What do beetles eat?

These insects diverge in search of food, which they will use before they become reincarnated in mature ground beetles. The bombardier (beetle), like most varieties, goes hunting for the larvae of the beetle-buzzard. Other individuals dig out from the soil pupae of the bear, and some of their relatives eat leaves of sprouts of cereal crops.

After pouring and becoming more (up to 25 mm), ground beetles begin to gnaw young leaves, leaving only streaks from them. Then they climb the stems of the grain plants and eat them. The spoiled foliage has a worn and chewed appearance. Often bitten leaves insects carry in their earthen dwellings, where in a quiet environment they are eaten.

If the bombardier (beetle) finds an appropriate prey, for example, a pupa, then it will be taken from the head. This process of eating continues for several days until the victim's wall is completely emptied. As a result, the larva enters the liberated shell, where it transforms into an adult beetle instead of its prey. A period passes and a mature beetle comes out of the cocoon in absolute combat readiness.

What is useful for a beetle for humans

The benefits of most types of such insects are obvious - they eat millipedes, worms, lice, pests of vegetable gardens and gardens, as well as their larvae. Thanks to strong jaws, individuals can cope with almost all parasites.

There are also certain types of malicious bread ground beetles, but for the most part they only benefit. Creatures are really capable of destroying the incoming number of garden and garden pests, but most importantly - they can do it on time.

Such beetles in nature are among the individuals well introduced to protect against pests. Like most other insects, the ground beetle often goes unnoticed, especially by people who are practically not interested in beetles. But this still does not prevent its participation in the fight against parasites of vegetable gardens and gardens.