The Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism (2018)

McIntosh, A.C., and J. Lawrence. 2018. The extraordinary design of the bombardier beetle- A classic example of biometrics. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism , ed. J.H. Whitmore, pp. 268–276. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Creation Science Fellowship. THE EXTRAORDINARY DESIGN OF THE BOMBARDIER BEETLE— A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF BIOMIMETICS Andy C. McIntosh , Visiting Professor of Thermodynamics, School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, LEEDS, UK, andy.c.mcintosh@gmail.com Joseph Lawrence , 102, Brookwood, Starkville, Mississippi, USA. jlaw4jc@gmail.com ABSTRACT The innocuous looking bombardier beetle is one of the most remarkable creatures in the insect world. This tiny insect (1-1.5 cms long) is able to fight off any spider, frog, ant or bird that comes too close, by blasting the attacker with a powerful jet of hot, toxic fluid. Furthermore, the beetle can aim its weapon in any direction (even over its head) with pinpoint accuracy, and can reach distances of up to 20 cm with its spray. The bombardier beetle is rare in Europe but common in Africa, Asia and the warmer parts of the Americas, and in order to resist predators, forms a noxious spray by reacting small amounts of hydroquinone with hydrogen peroxide in a pair of combustion chambers in its abdomen, and in the presence of the catalysts catalase and peroxidase. The beetle demonstrates irreducible complexity in the following systems: 1) the sensory mechanism which gives awareness of the approach of a predator, 2) the valve system that involves both inlet and exhaust valves working synchronously, 3) the chemical production of reactants hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone, 4) the use of catalytic chemistry to eject a controlled explosive mixture, and 5) the moveable, flexible exhaust turret to enable ejection in any direction. These and others are systems which only work when each of the component parts are operating in harmony with others in a coordinated mechanism. For chemical systems the same point applies in principle. The overall chemical system will only operate correctly if each component chemical is in place in a prepared pathway. This paper reviews the research of a number of authors (including Professor McIntosh) into the workings of the bombardier beetle spray system. Not only is this is a classic example of biomimetics (the study of design in nature and copying these designs and using them in engineering), but also tacitly underlines the necessity of design in the original beetle itself. The discovery that the McIntosh team made of sophisticated mechanisms in the beetle’s structure and chemistry demonstrates the irreducible complexity in the design of the beetle. KEY WORDS biomimetics, biology, engineering, design, irreducible complexity, pulse combustion, valves, hydrogen peroxide Copyright 2018 Creation Science Fellowship, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA www.creationicc.org 268 INTRODUCTION The work of this paper is primarily concerning the physics of the beetle valve system and shows that it is irreducibly complex and marvelously designed . The production of hydrogen peroxide in the beetle is yet to be fully understood, but what is known shows the intricate sophistication of the beetle extends also into chemical system where interdependent chemical pathways defy the idea of a slow, evolving process. This example of biomimetics shows clearly the evidence of design in the created world and underlines the truth of Rom 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”. The glory is to the God who made such an intricately designed system, including lowly beetles. THE WORKINGS OF THE BOMBARDIER BEETLE The bombardier beetle (McIntosh 2007, Beheshti and McIntosh 2007a, Beheshti and McIntosh 2007b, McIntosh and Beheshti 2008 and see figs. 1 and 2) heats up a toxic aqueous mixture of quinones to above boiling point in a tiny combustion chamber less than 1mm in size by an exothermic chemical reaction and then sprays it from a moveable turret in its back end in any direction it wishes - even over its head. The beetle uses this mechanism for warding off attacks from spiders, frogs, ants and birds. The beetle forms the noxious spray (which is in a solution mainly composed of water) by reacting small amounts of hydroquinone with hydrogen peroxide in the combustion chamber (less than 1mm long) in the presence of the catalysts catalase and peroxidase. This exothermic reaction then produces benzoquinone and water, and heats up the solution to above boiling. 1. Combustion chamber with valve system Pioneering work by Professor Tom Eisner of Cornell University (Aneshansley and Eisner 1999) showed that the mixture ejection is not continuous but is in fact a series of explosions similar to pulse combustion, whereby the reactants fill the chamber, react and are ejected, then more reactants enter and the cycle is repeated. This is done in the beetle’s case at a frequency so high (400-500Hz) that it took a high speed camera operating at the kHz level to resolve the individual explosions. The results were astonishing as they showed that the audible note that the beetle makes when it is firing, and that can be heard by observers, is directly connected to the explosion frequency. Aneshansley et al. (1969) measured the mass of the ejected liquid