Stinkbug, common name applied to a bug characterized by a persistent disagreeable odor that protects the bug from enemies and that remains on plants over which the bug walks. The odor comes from two glands on the thorax. The family contains more than 5000 species, about 500 of which are native to the United States. Stinkbugs are broad, flat insects with five-jointed antennae. Their color is usually green, gray, and brown; some are colored bright red and black or bright yellow and black. Stinkbugs vary in their food habits, some being exclusively carnivorous and others being exclusively plant feeders. One of the most familiar species of stinkbug is the very destructive cabbage bug.
Scientific classification: Stinkbugs make up the family Pentatomidae, of the order Hemiptera.