Bombardier beetles are famous for their unique ability to explosively discharge hot quinones from their pygidial glands when threatened. Here we provide the first detailed description of the ultrastructure of the defensive gland system of the genus Paussus, the most speciose genus in the ground beetle subfamily Paussinae. Paussine beetles are commonly known as "flanged bombardier beetles" due to the presence of a flange on their elytra that assists in directing their defensive chemicals toward the front of their bodies. In this paper, we use optical, fluorescence and focused ion beam (FIB/SEM) microscopy to analyse and illustrate anatomy and ultrastructure of the explosive defensive system of Paussus favieri, a charismatic myrmecophilous species. The defensive system of this species consists of two independent, symmetrical glands each composed of secretory lobes, a long collecting duct, a bilobed reservoir chamber, a cuticular valve, a sclerotized reaction chamber, and an accessory chamber, associated with the reaction chamber, that is surrounded by several isolated glandular cells. Differences between the pygidial defensive systems of Paussus favieri and those of Brachininae are discussed.

中文翻译：

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蚂蚁巢“轰炸机”：带凸缘的庞巴迪甲虫Paussus favieri（鞘翅目，Car科）的爆炸防御系统。

庞巴迪甲虫以其独特的能力在受到威胁时能从腺中快速释放热醌而闻名。在这里，我们提供了对Paussus属的防御腺体系统超微结构的第一个详细描述，该系统是地面甲壳虫Paussinae科中最特殊的属。钾盐甲虫由于其鞘翅上存在凸缘，因此有助于将其防御性化学物质引向身体前方，因此通常被称为“法兰庞巴迪甲虫”。在本文中，我们使用光学，荧光和聚焦离子束（FIB / SEM）显微镜分析和说明了Paussus favieri（一种有魅力的常温性物种）的爆炸防御系统的解剖结构和超微结构。这个物种的防御系统由两个独立的 对称腺体，每个腺体由分泌叶，长收集管，双叶贮水室，表皮瓣，硬化反应室和与反应室相关的附属室组成，周围被几个孤立的腺细胞包围。讨论了野菜和小菜蛾的防御体系之间的差异。