Reflex Bleeding Deters Predators

Biological Strategy

AskNature Team

Protect From Animals

Animals–organisms that range from microscopic to larger than a bus–embody a wide variety of harms to living systems, including other animals. They threaten through predation, herbivory, defense, and parasitism, and they compete for resources such as water, nutrients, and space. Any given living organism commonly faces threats from a variety of animals, requiring strategies that effectively defend from each. Trout and other bony fish, for example, escape predators by having scales made of very thin, flake-like pieces of bone covered with slippery mucus. They also have behavioral strategies such as camouflage, fast swimming, and twisting and turning to achieve release from a predator’s grip.

Search this Function

Some female fireflies defend themselves by releasing noxious, steroid-containing blood from their thoraxes.

“When defending themselves, female fireflies of the genus Photuris release droplets of blood from their thorax that contain distasteful substances known as lucibufagins (LBG).

“Intriguingly, in 1998, Cornell University biologist Dr. Thomas Eisner revealed that these fireflies do not produce the chemicals themselves but obtain them from the bodies of their prey, males of a related genus, Photinus. These are lured to their doom when the female Photuris fireflies cunningly mimic the bioluminescent signals of the Photinus females.” (Shuker 2001:130)