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"How many chemicals do you figure he went through (blowing himself up each time.....oh wait a minute, that would make him extinct) before he found the right chemicals?"

Evolution says that the bugs which got it right(er) would survive & multiply, while those which got it wrong would die off. Pretty simple concept, I'd say.

Now, four places come to mind, where a scientist might begin to look for some answers to your questions:

the fossil record, though in this particular case, there probably is none.
similar, closely related species, which could show us how many of those features are relatively common, and how many unique to this one.
DNA analysis, which could show the genetic locations of instructions for features you find so interesting. These could be compared to similar instructions in related species, to see how different the differences are.
Comparative embryonic development, showing when and how these features are first expressed.

But more importantly, I think your term for this is "irreducible complexity," and that somehow "proves" an Intelligent Design.

Well, I believe (along with most church teaching), that ALL of nature, not just some specific parts of it, is "intelligently designed" by God from the beginning. So God did not just occasionally intervene to make things happen -- instead, He made the Universe to develop the way He wanted it to from the beginning.

No, I'm not saying God has never intervened, that's ridiculous. But I am saying that you are never going to figure out scientifically where God specifically acted, and where He let nature take the course He originally intended for it!

But my beliefs are just that -- theology & metaphysics, not science. Science can only look for natural causes for natural occurrences.

****But more importantly, I think your term for this is “irreducible complexity,” and that somehow “proves” an Intelligent Design.****

You do this so often that I’m now going to use the following acronym....YPWIMMA.” That stands for “you’re putting words in my mouth again.” I can’t “prove” ID just like you can’t “prove” macroevolution. What the morphology of the bomardier beetle shows is that it takes a huge stretch of the imagination that all of those pieces would have evolved at the same time....and spare me the lecture, please. They would have all had to have been there together or he wouldn’t have survived.

****Well, I believe (along with most church teaching), that ALL of nature, not just some specific parts of it, is “intelligently designed” by God from the beginning. So God did not just occasionally intervene to make things happen — instead, He made the Universe to develop the way He wanted it to from the beginning.****

If you believe that God Intelligently Designed it from the beginning and since you obviously think that you know the mind of God, perhaps you can tell me why you think a God powerful enough to create the universe would take billions of years to create it’s inhabitants. Instead of creating a cell, why didn’t He create everything else....was He not powerful enough? Not intelligent enough? What?

And by the way....I reject what you call “most church teaching”. I don’t know that it is and I really don’t care if they do. Even if it is “most church teaching” it carries no weight in this argument. Majority opinion does not define truth. Truth defines truth.

****But my beliefs are just that — theology & metaphysics, not science. Science can only look for natural causes for natural occurrences****

We’ve been down this road as well. Your statement is false. Science tries to assign a natural cause for EVERY occurence, not just natural ones. If they don’t have an answer they make one up and hope it sticks.....kind of like pond-scum to people evolution.