Claim CB310.1:
The bombardier beetle would explode if the hydrogen peroxide and
hydroquinone that produce their ejecta were mixed without a chemical
inhibitor. Such a combination of chemicals could not have evolved.
Source:
Gish, Duane T., 1977. Dinosaurs: Those Terrible Lizards. El Cajon,
CA:
Master Book, pp. 51-52.
Hitching, Francis, 1982. The Neck of the Giraffe, New York:
Meridian, p. 68.
AIG, 1990. The amazing bombardier beetle. Creation Ex Nihilo
12(1): 29.
Response:
- That description of bombardier beetles' physiology is inaccurate. It
is based on a sloppy translation of a 1961 German article by
Schildknecht and Holoubek (Kofahl 1981). Hydrogen peroxide and
hydroquinone do not explode when mixed (Dawkins 1986, 86-87). What
actually happens is this: Secretory cells produce a mixture of
hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide (and perhaps other chemicals),
which collects in a reservoir. To produce the blast, the beetle
releases some of this mixture into a reaction chamber, where catalases
and peroxidases cause the mixture to oxidize in chemical reactions that
generate enough heat to vaporize about a fifth of the mixture. The
pressure of the released gasses causes the heated mixture to be
expelled explosively from the beetle's abdomen (Aneshansley and Eisner
1969; Aneshansley et al. 1983; Eisner et al. 1989).
- There is no reason to consider the evolution of bombardier beetles
implausible. See Bombardier Beetle
Evolution.
- The bombardier beetle is often used as an example of evidence for
design. How can such arguments be taken seriously when the people
making them do not even know how their example works?
Links:
Isaak, Mark, 1997. Bombardier beetles and the argument of design.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/bombardier.html
References:
- Aneshansley, D. J. and T. Eisner, 1969. Biochemistry at 100C: explosive
secretory discharge of bombardier beetles (Brachinus). Science 165:
61-63.
- Aneshansley, D. J., T. H. Jones, D. Alsop, J. Meinwald, and T. Eisner, 1983.
Thermal concomitants and biochemistry of the explosive discharge
mechanism of some little known bombardier beetles. Experientia 39:
366-368.
- Dawkins, Richard, 1986. The Blind Watchmaker. New York: Norton.
- Eisner, T. et al., 1989. Chemical defense of an Ozaenine bombardier
beetle from New Guinea. Psyche 96: 153-160.
- Kofahl, Robert E., 1981. The bombardier beetle shoots back.
Creation/Evolution 2(3): 12-14.
Further Reading:
Weber, C. G., 1981. The bombardier beetle myth exploded.
Creation/Evolution 2(1): 1-5.
See for Yourself:
Hydroquinone is available from photography shops and hydrogen peroxide
from supermarkets and drug stores. You can mix them yourself to see that
they do not explode.
created 2001-2-17
