This week we look at a group of beetles that are well known for their abilities to produce and shoot boiling acid from their abdomen!    Support the show -> https://www.patreon.com/user?u=46499107  IG: https://www.instagram.com/insects4fun/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085443614825 Email: [email protected]   Music supported by Lofi Girl with featured artists: HM Surf, Another silent weekend, S N U G, and Sátyr   Transcription:    Welcome to Episode 56 of Insects for Fun! The weekly podcast covering all things entomology, and creepy crawlies. Today we are taking a look into a beetle that packs some crazy firepower in the form of boiling acid.    Bombardier beetles are a group of ground dwelling beetles in the family carabidae. There are over 500 species known and can be found on every continent except for that one dark, and cold special place… Antarctica. I had to say it this time cause I have no idea if there are new listeners on this episode. But yeah these beetles are pretty much everywhere on earth and inhabit woodlands, grasslands, and even deserts! Don’t expect them to be all over arid climates though. The fact is these guys need moisture for their eggs, and they prefer an area that can provide cover during the day and water. Many are commonly found near lakes, ponds, and rivers.    As for their appearance, the beetles come in a variety of colors and sizes, but the body shape is relatively similar. For example I can be pretty sure a beetle is a bombardier if the head and thorax are narrow compared to the abdomen, and the shape is similar to an upside down maraca (maraca noise). The abdomens have to be larger than everything else because this is where they store their special chemicals, but we’ll get into that jazz later.   In the United States there are 40 species and these all surprisingly look pretty similar. Orange/reddish bodies with their elytra being greenish blue or navy. Elytra is the term we use for the hard shells beetles have over their wings by the way. Honestly, some of the US species are incredibly stunning and I’ll have the photos as usual on the Instagram page. The average size for these guys is quite small with many people often referring to them as the size of a fingernail given you don’t have hulk hands or something. (insert angry hulk noise)    Bombardier beetles begin their life as an egg in the soil, and chow down on smaller insect larvae until they reach adulthood. Some bombardier beetles will actually lay their eggs in the carcass of a dead animal because it serves as protection and a food magnet for other smaller insect larvae like maggots. The beetles go through a series of molts during the summer months until fall and then emerge from the ground in spring as an adult. Most of us would never know whether or not there are bombardier larvae around because they spend all their life buried in decaying matter feeding on other ground-dwelling animals like grubs and worms or even the decaying matter itself depending on what it is. The adult beetles are also carnivorous, but they don’t actually seek out lively prey. Instead, they patrol at night looking for weakened insects for young larvae to feed on, and once the sun begins to rise they seek shelter somewhere away from the heat and away from the eyes of potential predators like frogs and toads. The beetles prefer a solitary life during the night, but what’s interesting is that during the day they’ll hide with others, and it's been found that they don’t discriminate. Bombardier beetles actively seek out places with other bombardier beetles, regardless of the species and stay huddled together during the day.    Something else which is interesting to note is that these beetles don’t use their acid spray to hunt. It’s a defense mechanism used only when encountered with a threat like a toad or frog, and yeah it does kinda seem like the only things crazy enough to try and eat one of these