ArticleDie Naturwissenschaften2020
Defense of bombardier beetles against avian predators.
Article in Die Naturwissenschaften, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Eyespots inEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Molecular basis of the explosive defence response in the bombardier beetleRoyal Society open science · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Bioinspired Hemostatic Strategy via Pulse Ejections for Severe Bleeding Wounds.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2023Article
- Bombardier beetles repel invasive bullfrogs.PeerJ · 2022Article
- Pygidial Glands in Carabidae, an Overview of Morphology and Chemical Secretion.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Beetle bombing always deters praying mantises.PeerJ · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bombardier beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Brachininae) possess a remarkable defense mechanism where a hot chemical spray is released from the tip of their abdomen, with an audible explosive sound. To date, the repellent properties of these chemicals have been tested against a limited number of taxa, such as amphibians and insects. To investigate the impact of bombardier beetle defenses on avian predators, feeding trials were conducted using the bombardier beetle (Pheropsophus jessoensis) and the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), a sympatric and generalist predator. All naïve, hand-reared quail attacked live beetles, indicating the absence of an innate aversion to them. However, most of the quail rejected consuming the beetles whether or not the beetles sprayed them with chemicals. Naïve quail also rejected dead P. jessoensis individuals. These results support the recent hypothesis that it is not essential for P. jessoensis to spray noxious chemicals to deter predators. We also found that some of the quail exposed to live P. jessoensis remembered to avoid them for up to 5 weeks. Our results provide the first evidence of the repelling effects of bombardier beetle defense mechanisms on avian predators.
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