Will a beetle engine follow the Beetle car? Researchers have learned that bombardier beetles shoot a hot, explosive chemical spray as a defense mechanism against attacking ants. This system could inspire designs for more efficient engines.
The new study's findings were published Thursday in the journal Science. X-ray imaging has shown the almost instant chemical explosion that happens inside their bodies.
The X-rays explain how the beetle's defensive glands create the explosions. Scientists also learned how the bug survives the blasts.
About 1,400 species of bombardier beetles live on almost every continent on Earth. The tiny insects' length averages less than one inch.
Eric Arndt, lead author and MIT doctoral candidate, focused on the Brachinus elongatulus beetle. It sprays a hot, fast, pulsing spray.
The defense mechanism of B.elongatulus functions like a chemical heat pack. Each of the two glands has a pair of sections that hold the chemicals for the spray.
The inner section is an elastic sac that contains water, hydrogen peroxide, and chemical compounds. Meanwhile, the thicker outer section contains a peroxidase (enzyme).
A valve separates the compartments' chambers. This prevents the ingredients from the two sections from blending.
The situation changes when the beetle is attacked. It contracts the muscles around the compartment. This causes the reaction solution to spill into the enzyme chamber.
The mixing of the ingredients causes a reaction that heats the blend to 100 degrees Celsius. One-third of the water boils off, causing the beetle to shoot out the toxic spray.
Arndt says that the process happens "explosively." The mixture is made and discharged in about 10 milliseconds, according to Christian Science Monitor.
As the elastic chamber expands, the valve is turned off and the spray stops flowing, according to Daily Mail. Then when the chamber contracts, the valve is turned on and a new spray is mixed up like clockwork.
The bombardier beetle's effective defense system could help to solve certain problems of humans. For example, it could produce better fuel injectors for engines.
Arndt explains that an automobile engine contains hundreds of different parts. However, the beetle's "single part" performs by using chemical energy.