Insects – Plant en Zo

Pitcher plant not a strict predator after all

Nature documentaries make us believe that pitcher plants are highly skilled at trapping insects. In reality, a pitcher plant success rate is not that high, about 2%. This made scientist wonder if pitcher plants are really the predators we believe them to be.

A less penetrable skin

Sap-sucking insects like white flies and aphids are a disaster for plants. Not so much for their sap sucking but for giving plants bacteria and viruses. As such plant like to make it difficult for those insects. For example, by having a sturdier wax layer, like Chinese researchers found in a new study.

Hijacking flower genes to make galls

You have likely come across them, galls, deformities on leaves or stems. The larvae of various insects induce galls, varying from simple tissue deformities to complex structures. A new paper shows how the larvae inside hijack the plant genes to make those structures.

‘Water balloons’ uncovered

‘Water balloons’ uncovered The leaves of quinoa and ice plants are covered with fine hairs. Long was believed that these hairs help plants coping during water shortage and salt stress. But now Danish researchers show in Current Biology that this is not true: they protect against herbivory insects. Quinoa and ice plants are salt tolerantContinue reading “‘Water balloons’ uncovered”