Photo from open source One of the varieties of aquilegia – many years herbaceous plant family Ranunculaceae – during evolutionary development has learned to protect itself from caterpillars with the help of corpses other insects. An amazing survival strategy has been described in article published in the scientific journal Ecology.
Heliothis phloxiphaga nocturnal caterpillars feed Aquilegia eximia fruits, flowers and buds – aquilegia exceptional. The latter chose not to scare away enemies with poison or unpleasant odors, and emit special chemicals, which attract beetles, dragonflies and some other insects. Insects sit on the stems of the plant and stick to it, in further dying.
But that is not all. Further dead insects attract various scavengers – for example, spiders. Scavengers gladly do not eat only dead insects, but also caterpillars threatening aquilegia. By According to experts who made this discovery, scavengers to the plant does not stick, which allows them to calmly on it climb, eating caterpillars and corpses. The authors of the study have so far found only Aquilegia eximia has a similar strategy, however there is the likelihood that other plants from the Ranunculaceae family may have an unusual protective system.
It is noteworthy that last year a somewhat similar strategy was discovered by scientists at wasps Deuteragenia. Building nests, wasps lay out the outer tier with dead ants so that they create the smell of the anthill and thus frightened off many parasites and predators.
Insect plants
