Link roundup

1. Scratch-built Wheatley (Portal) toy.

2. Pretty disturbing - - beehive that took over a chimney.

3. Sho Murase posted her illustrations from the Star Wars Visions book (which was overall actually a bit of a letdown).

The Bombardier Beetle

Boing Boing interviewed Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Plants and Wicked Bugs, and in the video, Stewart mentions some of her favorite bugs, including the bombardier beetle. Wikipedia explains:

A bombardier beetle produces and stores two reactant chemical compounds, hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide, in separate reservoirs in the rear tip of its abdomen. When threatened, the beetle contracts muscles that force the two reactants through valved tubes into a mixing chamber containing water and a mixture of catalytic enzymes. When combined, the reactants undergo a violent exothermic chemical reaction, raising the temperature to near the boiling point of water. The corresponding pressure buildup forces the entrance valves from the reactant storage chambers to close, thus protecting the beetle's internal organs. The boiling, foul-smelling liquid partially becomes a gas (flash evaporation) and is expelled through an outlet valve into the atmosphere with a loud popping sound. The flow of reactants into the reaction chamber and subsequent ejection to the atmosphere occurs cyclically at a rate of about 500 times per second and with the total pulsation period lasting for only a fraction of a second.

The gland openings of some African bombardier beetles can swivel through 270° and thrust between the insect's legs, so it can be discharged in all sorts of directions with considerable accuracy.

You can see the beetle in action in this video:



And you can buy Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects at Amazon.

Now I'm going to be afraid every time I pull the cover off my barbecue

A Reddit user realized he had a bee problem and set off a smoke bomb near his barbecue.




When he investigate further, he found that they were honey bees and had built a hive:





*Previously: An even creepier beehive.

Disturbing spider attack

Watch as a spider plays possum to lure an ant close, and then ties him up with a freakish burst of speed. And then something more disturbing happens. There's more spider videos at Vimeo, and spider photos at DeviantArt. Via.

*Previously: David Lynch's Spider-Man.

Video shows how difficult it is to sink a raft of fire ants

Horrifying video shows how difficult it is to sink a raft of fire ants.