AI: v7 (First Timer)

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  When hair is dyed, a 30% concentration of hydrogen peroxide is used to prepare the hair.

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  The cuticle of a hair is the outside dead cells of the hair.  Hydrogen peroxide breaks this open so it can be dyed.

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  The bombardier beetle emits its spray at an astonishing rate of fire: one thousand pulses per second!

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  The bombardier has little turrets that it can aim 370º,  3/4 the way around its body.

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  The sprays the attacker with a boiling hot mix of toxic chemicals in just 1/8th of a second to make them back off.

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  In 2015 scientists form MIT at Argonne National Laboratory used high speed synchrotron x-ray imaging to see inside living bombardier beetles to try to understand what is going on inside them.

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  The reaction chamber where the mixing happens is extremely flexible.  

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  Even though the reaction chamber was rigid, there were stretchy balloon like valves leading into and out of the chamber.

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  The stretchy balloon like valves act like ultra speed switches and release both the chemicals and the boiling mixture as the pressure builds. These immediately spring back as the pressure builds.  No muscles like those in our arteries are involved

BOMBARDIER BEETLE:  This process allows brief critical cooling period of a few seconds.  The stops a runaway explosion from blowing the good old bombardier beetle to bits.