Definition of Bombardier beetle

1. Noun. Beetle that ejects audibly a pungent vapor when disturbed.

Generic synonyms: Carabid Beetle, Ground Beetle
Group relationships: Brachinus, Genus Brachinus

Definition of Bombardier beetle

1. Noun. A beetle whose defence mechanism enables it to eject a hot aqueous mixture of chemicals at predators. They come from a number of subfamilies: Carabinae (e.g., ''Brachinus crepitans''), Metriinae (e.g., ''Stenaptinus insignis'') and Paussinae (e.g., ''Goniotropis nicaraguensis''). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Bombardier Beetle

bomb out
bomb rack
bomb shelter
bomb shelters
bomb site
bomb sites
bomb up
bomba
bombable
bombace
bombard
bombarded
bombarder
bombarders
bombardier
bombardier beetle (current term)
bombardier beetles
bombardiers
bombarding
bombardman
bombardmen
bombardment
bombardments
bombardon
bombardons
bombards
bombasine
bombasines
bombast
bombasted

Literary usage of Bombardier beetle

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Life-zone Indicators in California by Harvey Monroe Hall, Marcos Sastre, William Hamilton Gibson, Joseph Grinnell (1919)
"THE BOMBARDIER-BEETLE fune gth HE familiar counsel to the aspirant for success to "leave no stone unturned" is said to date back to the Delphic oracle, ..."

2. Human physiology the basis of sanitary and social science by Thomas Low Nichols (1872)
"... of Insect Life—Insect Transformations—Flies—bombardier beetle—Honey Bee—Ants—Fire Flies— Spiders—Fishes—Snails—The Rattlesnake—Birds, their Forms and ..."

3. London Society edited by James Hogg, Florence Marryat (1878)
"A little further on a bombardier beetle attracted my attention. ... The position of the bombardier beetle, taken, so to speak, in the very act of murder, ..."

4. Our common insects: First Steps to Entomology by E. W. Cox (1864)
"The little bombardier beetle is a common victim of the blue beetle, which, like most of its family, has the power of emitting an offensive odour when ..."

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