How bombardier beetles bomb

For as long as researchers have been studying the bombardier beetle they have been baffled by their ability to produce an internal explosion in their abdomen and then expel a jet of boiling, irritating liquid towards their attackers while avoiding any physical damage. Now a team of researchers at MIT, the University of Arizona, and Brookhaven Laboratory have solved the conundrum. (Learn more: http://bit.ly/1GJygo0)

Using high-speed synchrotron X-ray imaging the researchers were able to "see" the inside of the abdomens of living bombardier beetles during explosions.

Video: Melanie Gonick/MIT

X-ray imagery: Ortiz Lab
External high-speed footage: "Bombardier Beetles," ©2012 MIT Harold E. Edgerton Collection, Courtesy of MIT Museum
Still image: Charles Hedgcock and Wendy Moore
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