Butterfly eggs alert mustard plant to voracious caterpillars
Thursday, July 9, 2015 - 07:30
in Biology & Nature
Mustard plants are able to defend themselves against voracious caterpillars before these emerge from their eggs. As butterflies lay eggs, a substance is released that the plant recognises, thus activating a series of defence mechanisms. Caterpillars develop less well on plants where eggs have been laid than on plants where no eggs were present. The plant remains fitter too. These are the results of research conducted by entomologists at Wageningen University. The research was published online in Ecology Letters on 6 July.