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Why Does Ladybug Smell So Bad

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We’ve all had the same question: why does that ladybug smell so bad?? Have you ever noticed how, when you smash a ladybug or even get near it, that red and black spotted creature begins to give off a smell of something gross? That’s because of the chemicals inside it, that make that scent. It’s a nutlike, green bell pepper, potato, and moldy odor. YUCK!
One scientist (Lingshuang Cai) wanted to know a little more about what goes on to make that smell. “Lingshuang began the project by placing ladybugs in a capped glass vial for a day and then collecting the volatile compounds they released.” This means that by collecting the air that the ladybugs released, he was able to determine what was in the ladybugs’ “air.” DMMP and IPMP play a major role, but the scientific names would be 2,5-dimethyl-3-methoxypyrazine (DMMP), 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IPMP), 2-sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine, and 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine. More concisely speaking, there are certain chemicals in the ladybugs’ blood that mix together to make a smelly solution. …show more content…

The stink is so unappealing to an oncoming animal, that it will cause the enemy to run off (or fly off as the case may be. Ladybugs’ main predators are birds.). After all, would you eat something that smelled like that? This same scent is used for communication. Ladybugs are beetles, which means that they once in awhile get together to hibernate. If one Ladybug finds a good spot, it tells the others, by that smell. Ladybugs can smell this up a Quarter Mile away! The smell is so strong, it might stay on that very spot for up to five years! Why, you may ask? For the future generations to come! Generation after generation will go, hibernate, mate, then fly off and live a peaceful happy year of life.. (Then they’ll die, of course, but that’s not the

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