Stink Bugs and Samuri

I try hard to bring you news you can use.  So I'm leading with DON'T SQUASH BUGS THAT LOOK LIKE THIS!!

Hey, its a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug.  That makes the above advice pretty straightforward.  But where does the name come from?

I found one of these critters in the house earlier this year.  Or at least something that looked close enough to merit caution.  Out the door it went, into raw cold and rain that I hope dispatched it.

Marmorated....such an odd word.  My mind jumped immediately to The Sea of Marmora.  I mean, didn't yours too?  Huh.  Well I guess that's because it is technically the Sea of Marmara, an extension of the Aegean Sea near Istanbul.  It gets its name from an island in the middle of same, also called Marmara and so called because in Ancient times it was a place where a lot of marble was quarried.

Marble, the stone, gives us marbles....made of stone.  Also marbleized steak.  As our summer grilling season is upon us you'll all benefit from knowing that this means red meat with many streaks of white fat in it....looking a bit like marble.  That would be the stone again.

Marmorated is just another variant indicating a marbled or streaked appearance.

Needless cautionary note.  Marmorated Stink Bugs are not edible with any degree of grilling and basting.   

Needless cautionary note two - perhaps a bit late.  These bugs are enough of an invasive pest that there was some thought of introducing their main predator to control them.  While the USDA was studying the feasibility and safety of bringing in the Samuri Wasp it was discovered that populations of same had already snuck in to the US somehow.  I'm sure it will all turn out well in the end.