In order to protect themselves from being eaten by predators, some species have evolved very clever defense mechanisms.
Some small bugs have turned themselves into chemical weapons, and the common "stink bug" when you were a child is a kind of stink bug, as long as you touch it with your hand, it will leave a strange smell on your hand, even if you kill it, the smell will not go away for a long time.
This stench is still fresh in my mind.
Coincidentally, there is a kind of beetle that upgrades the defense mechanism on the basis of the "stink bug", which can be said to bring the art of escape to the extreme.
Its name is also very intimidating: artillery rifle armor.
"Chemical fart", hot as boiling water, and acidic
Cannon rifle armor, also known as fart beetle, but it is not the same as what we often call stinky fart.
It's a small beetle, 5-13 mm long, that looks unremarkable, but what its "fart" is powerful.
When in danger, the beetles will spray a harsh liquid at a predator who is close by, which is not only unpleasant, but also very hot, and the liquid will be vaporized as soon as it enters the air.
The liquid contains acidic substances, so once it is sprayed, it will produce a severe burning sensation.
At the same time as the spray, there will also be a loud "bang" sound, which will surprise the predator.
After research, it is believed that the temperature of this liquid is as high as boiling water, the temperature can reach 100 ° C, and the liquid sprayed by the cannon armor can be synthesized again, and it is fully capable of firing such a "chemical fart" quickly and repeatedly.
With such a hot liquid, how did the beetle survive?
The liquid released by the cannon rifle armor is considered to be as high as 100 ° C, which is undoubtedly fatal for the small beetle, will it not be burned to death by such a high temperature?
How does it carry chemicals that react so violently?
Scientists believe that two chemicals play a key role in the beetle's "explosive" defenses, one is hydrogen peroxide and the other is the toxic quinone.
The two species are stored in different small sacs of the beetle, and when in danger, the beetle needs to protect itself, it will mix the two substances together in a cavity behind the abdomen, which can produce a lot of heat energy, which is also the main reason for the high temperature of the liquid.
The moment the beetle mixes the two substances, it will vigorously squirt the mixture from its abdomen.
The mixture is sprayed in time, and the reaction chamber in the abdomen is very strong, so it protects the other internal organs of the beetle from damage.
Even if two substances are accidentally mixed, the beetle can defuse the crisis by simply spraying it anywhere.
Not only that, but some beetles have special aiming powers.
When confronted with a threat, the African AirBug armor twists its abdomen and can spray in almost any direction, even aiming at certain parts of its own back.
Scientists believe that the beetle's incredibly accurate head when attacking may be to allow the beetle to deal with enemies like ants that can attack from any direction.
The toad's remorse: Swallowed, and had to spit it out
While artillery infantry have evolved an undeniably good defense mechanism, they are occasionally eaten by larger predators.
One of the predators that must be noted by the cannon rifle armor is the toad.
However, when this happened, the artillery infantry was also prepared to deal with it.
In one experiment, scientists fed Japanese toads with artillery rifles to study the reactions of beetles and toads.
It was found that after the toad swallowed the beetle, the beetle not only did not die, but also forced the toad to spit itself out.
According to statistics, 43% of toads that eat beetles will spit out beetles after 12-107 minutes, and more than 93% of beetles that are spit out survive for at least two weeks after the end of the experiment.
The main reason is that the cannon armor will spray chemicals, and after swallowing, the beetle puts a chemical "fart" in the toad's stomach, prompting the toad to give up the food it has eaten and spit it out.
But not all artillery rifles can escape from the stomach of the toad, and the size of the predator and prey is a crucial factor.
Theoretically, the larger the beetle and the smaller the toad, the greater the probability of the beetle escaping.
Studies have shown that the surviving beetles are clearly covered with a lot of mucus, indicating that they have entered the digestive system of the toad.
However, how they avoid being digested by the digestive system is uncertain.
Scientists speculate that it may be that beetles have evolved a high tolerance to the gastric juices of amphibians, or that beetles release chemicals that reduce the toad's ability to digest.
At last
In nature, creatures have evolved various escape skills in order to survive.
"If you swallow me, you'll spit it out."
This type of gun armor is one that sprays chemicals, hot and acidic substances that force the toad to give up the meal.
There's also an alternative escape mechanism: "You swallow me and I climb out on my own." ”
There is a small aquatic insect in Japan, after being swallowed by a frog, after its own unremitting efforts, 90% of the small bugs can come out alive, but this bug does not come out of the mouth, but from the cloacing cavity of the frog.
The most amazing thing is that the little bugs are not actively excreted by the frog, but through their own efforts to pass through the digestive tract of the frog, escaping from the cloaca covered with feces, so inspirational, and the classic "Shawshank Redemption" has a fight.
The little bugs are so desperate to survive, they should really learn from them, because we who have been defeated because of a little setback are worth reflecting on.