I used to stained my hand in childhood, as the insct leaved a strong stain in hands with noisy fart sound if catche alive ; the question may be funny, but I really want to know about that amazing insect. Please mentioned the local language name if somebody see it.
you can find all the information required in the link below
https://www.wired.com/2015/06/silent-deadly-fatal-farts-immobilize-prey/
Thanks a lot for your valuble Answers; yes exactly that insect was bombardier beetle as u mentioned Mr. Tharaka Wijerathna, now I can read about bombardier beetle, It just feel like 'to find something that was lost long time ago.
Bombardier beetles are ground beetles (>500 species altogether) and are most notable for the defense mechanism that gives them their name: when disturbed, they eject a hot noxious chemical spray from the tip of their abdomen with a popping sound. The spray is produced from a reaction between two chemical compounds, hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide, which are stored in two reservoirs in the beetle's abdomen. When the aqueous solution of hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide reaches the vestibule, catalysts facilitate the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide and the oxidation of the hydroquinone. Heat from the reaction brings the mixture to near the boiling point of water and produces gas that drives the ejection. The damage caused can be fatal to attacking insects. Some bombardier beetles can direct the spray over a wide range of directions (Wikipedia).
Bombardier beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) are as described. However, they are not rare (from an entomologist's perspective), and the ones that I have seen are active during the day. That said, there might be some species that are nocturnal? I am certainly not familiar with all the meloids, and there are some species that are less common than others. Finally I have assumed that the hot noxious chemical would hurt if I was sprayed. I was always really careful with these beetles, so I only assume that it would hurt.
Thanks Timothy A Ebert, for answer. I did not sure whether Bombardier beetles noctenal or not, however, I seen them more frequently at night, additionally I just saw them several years ago in my garden, where I used to catch them and put on my palm, slightly pampered their dorsal part to get a dark maroon stain on my palm. About their noxious chemical I personally say that it doesn't hurt at all; except a instant warm feeling and unbearable pungent smell.
At least by Wikipedia you are correct that they are mostly nocturnal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_beetle
When I collected them by sweep-net I must have caught them napping. Lol
In this light I suspect that some are nocturnal, but others are active in the day. I know that I have found genus Meloe running on the ground in daylight -- though again it might have been because they were disturbed and I did not see what disturbed them.
"When I collected them by sweep-net I must have caught them napping" Really funny ! Thanks once again, to explain .............................
Greetings all: Many kinds of insects exude odoriferous secretions. Think first about Pentatomidae (stink bugs) plus some related families of Hemiptera. But if you think of beetles, perhaps your best contenders are bombardier beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Brachininae), which include several genera (Brachinus, Pheropsophus, Stenaptinus) - an explanation of two of these 3 genera is here: Frank, J.H., Erwin, T.L., Hemenway, R.C. 2009. Economically beneficial ground beetles. The specialized predators Pheropsophus aequinoctialis (L.) and Stenaptinus jessoensis (Morawitz): Their laboratory behavior and descriptions of immature stages (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Brachininae). ZooKeys 14: 1-36. The paper is free online from Zookeys. Meloidae are NOT bombardier beetles, but are correctly characterized by Mr. Altaf Hussain (3 days ago)
Best wishes Howard Frank
Yes, I think it is a an Hemipteran bug. I do not remember the scientific name. Even in houses in dark & shady area I have seen it. Certainly it emits for its self defense. The pungent smell is so specific that if you detect the smell, on slight search the bug is seen.
Thats them! not much is known about Australian species but they appear to be susceptible to habitat modifications.
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