Editing Beetle (section)

====Mimicry and aposematism====
[[File:Clyte bélier - MHNT - Vue dorsale.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Clytus arietis]]'' ([[Cerambycidae]]), a [[Batesian mimic]] of wasps]]
{{further|Mimicry|Aposematism}}

Some [[longhorn beetle]]s (Cerambycidae) are effective [[Batesian mimics]] of [[wasp]]s. Beetles may combine coloration with behavioural mimicry, acting like the wasps they already closely resemble. Many other beetles, including [[ladybirds]], [[blister beetle]]s, and [[Lycidae|lycid beetles]] secrete distasteful or toxic substances to make them unpalatable or poisonous, and are often [[aposematic]], where bright or contrasting [[animal coloration|coloration]] warn off predators; many beetles and other insects mimic these chemically protected species.<ref name="Evans"/>

[[File:Blister beetle (26390828032).jpg|thumb|Blister beetles such as ''[[Hycleus]]'' have brilliant [[aposematic]] coloration, warning of their toxicity.]]
[[File:Bloody -nosed Beetle^ Timarcha tenebricosa - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg|thumb|The bloody-nosed beetle, ''[[Timarcha tenebricosa]]'', [[antipredator adaptation|defending itself]] by releasing a droplet of noxious red liquid (base of leg, on right)|left|172x172px]]

Chemical defense is important in some species, usually being advertised by bright aposematic colors. Some [[Tenebrionidae]] use their posture for releasing noxious chemicals to warn off predators. Chemical defenses may serve purposes other than just protection from vertebrates, such as protection from a wide range of microbes. Some species sequester chemicals from the plants they feed on, incorporating them into their own defenses.<ref name="Evans126"/>

Other species have special glands to produce deterrent chemicals. The defensive glands of carabid ground beetles produce a variety of [[hydrocarbon]]s, [[aldehyde]]s, [[phenol]]s, [[quinone]]s, [[ester]]s, and [[acid]]s released from an opening at the end of the abdomen. African carabid beetles (for example, ''[[Anthia]]'') employ the same chemicals as ants: [[formic acid]].<ref name="Evans">[[#refEvans|Evans & Bellamy (2000)]]</ref> [[Bombardier beetle]]s have well-developed pygidial glands that empty from the sides of the intersegment membranes between the seventh and eighth abdominal segments. The gland is made of two containing chambers, one for [[hydroquinone]]s and [[hydrogen peroxide]], the other holding hydrogen peroxide and [[catalase]] enzymes. These chemicals mix and result in an explosive ejection, reaching a temperature of around {{convert|100|C|F}}, with the breakdown of hydroquinone to hydrogen, oxygen, and quinone. The oxygen propels the noxious chemical spray as a jet that can be aimed accurately at predators.<ref name=insenc/>