Family Cantharidae, commonly called soldier beetles or leatherwings, are soft-bodied, often brightly colored insects known for their aggregating on flowers. They are distributed worldwide, with some 5,000 species in 135 genera. They are slow, lumbering fliers and easily caught; not surprisingly, they have chemical defenses which make up for these apparent evolutionary shortcomings.

Unlike many other beetles, which have a pair of defensive glands at the tip of their abdomen, the soldier beetles have paired glands in the prothorax and on each of their first eight abdominal segments. When molested, the beetle emits droplets of white viscous fluid from pores along their sides.

Studies have shown two species of soldiers, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus and Chauliognathus lecontei, are consistently rejected as prey by birds, mice, other beetles, ants, and jumping spiders. Mantids, assassin bugs, centipedes, and solpugids also avoid them. Chemical analysis has shown the secretion in both beetles to contain (Z)-dihydromatricaria acid, an acetylenic compound. [1]

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