Ground beetle
Videos
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it
Carabus auratus with prey
A crucifix ground beetle (Panagaeus cruxmajor) got Charles Darwin into trouble in 1828.
A Brachinus species typical bombardier beetle (Brachininae: Brachinini) from North Carolina
A Lophyra sp. tiger beetle from Tanzania
Bombardier beetle
Videos
Bombardier beetles are adephagan ground beetles in the Brachininae or Paussinae subfamilies—more than 500 species altogether—which are most notable for the defense mechanism that gives them their name
Ground beetle
…These are well developed in ground beetles, and produce noxious or even caustic secretions used to deter would-be predators. In some, commonly known as bombardier beetles, these secretions are mixed with volatile compounds and ejected by a small combustion, producing a loud popping sound and a cloud of hot and acrid gas…
Pheropsophus jessoensis
Australian bombardier beetle (Pheropsophus verticalis)
Benzoquinone