Mondo Knows Facts

Bombardier beetles shoot a boiling noxious liquid spray from their abdomen

Hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide react to produce a 100-degree spray.

When threatened, bombardier beetles mix hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide in an internal abdominal reaction chamber. Catalytic enzymes trigger a violent exothermic reaction, boiling the solution to 100 degrees Celsius and blasting noxious spray with audible pops.

Brachininae beetles (51354831056)
Ted Moravec ยท CC0 ยท licence ยท source

Where this comes from

Natural History Museum

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Tags: beetle, insects, defense

Bombardier beetles shoot a boiling noxious liquid spray from their abdomen: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?
Hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide react to produce a 100-degree spray. The figure is taken from Natural History Museum, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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