BOMBARDIER BEETLE

This creature gets its name honestly: It fends off attackers by bombing them with chemicals hot enough to burn human skin. The flying half-inch beetle has two separate glands. One contains hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone, which also can be engineered in a lab and used commercially as a skinbleaching agent. The other harbors a mixture of enzymes. When the contents of the two glands are mixed, they create a chemical that can reach a temperature of 212 degrees F. This combination is then shot out from a remarkably accurate nozzle-like opening located on the rear of the beetle’s abdomen, an action it can repeat up to 20 times in a row before running out of ammunition.