Insects using plants as telephones

A team of Dutch ecologists has found that subterranean and aboveground herbivorous insects use plants to communicate. ‘Subterranean insects issue chemical warning signals via the leaves of the plant. This way, aboveground insects are alerted that the plant is already occupied.’ This means that by using ‘green telephone lines,’ the two kinds of insects can avoid to compete for the same plant, allowing for faster growth for both species. Fascinating, but read more…

blogs.zdnet.com...

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Added 'ex' tags and direct link to text




[edit on 1/5/08 by masqua]

I too read about this recently.

It never ceases to amaze me how wonderfully complex the world is around us...even before our very eyes.

Nice post.