You are what you eat: A color-changing insect modifies diet to become distasteful
Monday, February 11, 2019 - 11:30
in Biology & Nature
When young spotted lanternflies grow they become brightly red. Around this time, they also begin to feed almost exclusively on the tree of heaven, from which they suck bitter juices into their bodies. In this way, they coordinate the moment when they become bright and visible to predators with the time when they become distasteful to predators. Birds learn to avoid bitter prey when the prey are brightly colored.