Posted: Jul 12, 2017 1:59 pm
Kyx wrote:Caterpillars are not fussy eaters. They can eat the leaves of plants or turn on each other when food runs out. Tomato plants can switch on this cannibalistic instinct in caterpillars by making their leaves taste foul, finds a study in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
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That has not been demonstrated as a general phenomenon in caterpillars. Their usual initial response to poisons in leaves is to find another leaf/plant, and eat that, rather than find another caterpillar and eat that.