This is Daily Random Facts, a short look at one surprising fact. This episode is about how some bombardier beetles defend themselves with a chemical spray. Some bombardier beetles keep two chemicals separate inside their bodies. The chemicals meet in a reaction chamber in the beetle’s abdomen. There, they mix, and the beetle sprays hot, irritating chemicals. “Irritating” means the spray can bother what it touches. The beetle’s defense depends on keeping the chemicals apart until they reach that chamber. So the spray is not simply one chemical stored on its own. It comes from two chemicals mixing just before the beetle releases it. Separate chemicals come together in the abdomen, then leave as a hot spray. The fact applies to some bombardier beetles, not necessarily every beetle in the group.