the.com/stink bug
Nature's smoke alarm: if squished, it files a chemical complaint everyone in the room smells.
means A shield-shaped insect that releases a foul-smelling defensive chemical when it feels threatened or is crushed.
from A straightforwardly descriptive English compound — 'stink' plus 'bug' — naming the insect for exactly what it does when disturbed. The glands that produce the odor sit on the underside of the thorax, releasing a cocktail of compounds (some of the same ones found in cilantro and certain almonds) meant to repel predators. No hidden history here: the name is as plain as the defense mechanism it describes.
- defense move
- releases aldehydes that smell like rotting cilantro
- origin
- hitchhiked from Asia to US in packing crates, 1990s
- winter habit
- invades houses, hibernates in walls by the hundreds
- predator problem
- few US birds will eat something that tastes like it smells