This Ant Stinks
8:09 minutes
Entomologist Clint Penick had an ant-related axe to grind. He had long heard that the “odorous house ant” (Tapinoma sessile) reeked of rotten coconut. However, when he caught scent of this puny household pest, he detected a different stench: blue cheese. With the help of fellow entomologist and post-doctoral researcher Adrian Smith, he set out to prove the actual smell of this ant’s putrid perfume. The results of their research were published in the American Entomologist this week.
Segment Guests
Clint Penick
Dr. Clint Penick is an assistant professor of Insect Ecology at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.
Adrian Smith
Adrian Smith is a post-doctoral researcher of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and host of the Age of Discovery podcast in Urbana, Illinois.
Meet the Producer
About Becky Fogel
@beckyfogelBecky Fogel is a newscast host and producer at Texas Standard, a daily news show broadcast by KUT in Austin, Texas. She was formerly Science Friday’s production assistant.