Story Published:
Jun 29, 2009 at 7:00 AM CDT
Story Updated:
Jun 29, 2009 at 9:42 AM CDT
According to the Entomology Society of America, there are about 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) insects in the world right now. And many of them have a way of protecting themselves.
Ladybugs are one of those creatures. You might find them on your tomato plants at home. They are great garden friends as they eat the tiny aphids that punish your vines.
And even though they look pretty, they have a pretty neat defense mechanism which we demonstrate in the video clip above.
Ladybugs actually do a chemical reaction to produce a stinky, toxic, froth. In fact, some believe the ladybug's blood is toxic as well. We simulated a similar chemical reaction with potassium iodide and a concentrated form of hydrogen peroxide. The result wasn't hard to miss. And, yes, it smelled. Bad.
Remember, don't try this at home.
If you'd like to learn more about how ladybugs use chemistry, or have fun learning the ways of mad scientists... check out the summer camp offerings here:
If you have a science question, ask the KY3 StormTeam here.
