Corn genetic heritage the strongest driver of chemical defenses against munching bugs
Published Date: 5/3/2022
Source: phys.org
Plants release chemical distress signals when under attack from chewing insects. These "911 calls," as entomologist Esther Ngumbi refers to them, alert other bugs that dinner or a nice place to lay their eggs is available nearby. If predatory or parasitic insects detect the right signal, they swoop in like saviors to make a meal out of—or lay their eggs in—the bodies of the herbivore insects.