Green Stink Bug

Stink bugs get their name because they are able to secrete a bad-smelling, bad-tasting fluid from pores on the sides of their bodies (many other members of the Hemiptera can do this as well). This is a defensive mechanism used to keep predators like birds, mice and lizards from eating the bug. It usually takes severe harassment to provoke stinkbugs into releasing their chemical defenses because producing these chemicals requires a significant energy investment from the bug.

The exact chemicals released by stink bugs vary by species, but they are all aldehydes. Aldehydes do not inherently smell bad, but stink bugs concentrate these chemicals so much that they become wholly unpleasant, even irritating. The smell can even kill the stinkbug itself. If the bugs are collected in stoppered vials, or kept in cages without adequate ventilation, the chemicals can get into their respiratory system and asphyxiate them.

While these aldehydes are distasteful and even toxic to birds and other predators, according to one particularly dedicated scientist, Dr. Bryan Krall of Parkland College, stinkbugs taste to humans like red-hots or cinnamon gum.