Beetle fights bass in mouthwash duel

A whirligig beetle seeps white goo when pestered, and that slow ooze—instead of a big squirt—gives the beetle a chance in a life-or-death contest inside a fish’s mouth, say Cornell University researchers.

Bass appears to struggle to rinse a bad taste off a tainted mealworm marked with charcoal. It alternately sloshes darkened water from its mouth (above) and gills (below).