Insects Emit Universal Death Stench

Scientists have discovered that insects from cockroaches to caterpillars all emit the same stinky blend of fatty acids when they die, and this sinister stench sends bugs of all kinds running for their lives.

A biologist made this morbid discovery while studying the social behavior of cockroaches. When a roach locates a great new abode (like your kitchen cupboard), it gives off a chemical signal to attract its cockroach friends. To determine the chemical composition of these pheromones, the scientists and his team started crushing dead cockroaches and spreading around their body juice. Cockroaches avoided places treated with these extracts "like the plague."

The team found that their concoction repelled not just cockroaches, but ants, caterpillars, woodlice and pill bugs. And even though they’re technically crustaceans rather than insects, dead woodlice and pill bugs produced the same set of fatty acids as the other animals.

Insects and crustaceans diverged from each other 400 million years ago, so the researchers think their death mix represents a universal, ancient warning signal. Recognizing and avoiding the dead could reduce the chances of catching the disease.

The scientists hope the right concoction of death smells might protect crops against pesky invaders. For instance, a log treated with the fatty acids repelled wood beetles in a forest for a full month.

Original article here.