News tagged with caterpillars
Butterfly experiment a prairie masterpiece in the making
Sep 28, 2009 |
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After waiting for a warm, summery day, biologist Doug Taron and a handful of colleagues fanned out through a thousand acres of restored prairie this month, stroking plants with delicate paintbrushes in hopes of adding a little ...
Conflict between plant and animal hormones in the insect gut?
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Cis-OPDA (12-oxophytodienoic acid) is a highly reactive plant hormone which simultaneously serves as a precursor molecule of the metabolic "master switch" jasmonic acid. Both signal herbivory in leaves and ...
Biologists discover 'death stench' is a universal ancient warning signal
Sep 11, 2009 |
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The smell of recent death or injury that repels living relatives of insects has been identified as a truly ancient signal that functions to avoid disease or predators, biologists have discovered.
Lost World Found in Papua New Guinea Volcano
Sep 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A BBC expedition exploring inside the crater of an extinct volcano in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has discovered a lost world of dozens of weird new species and rare animals, including new frogs, ...
Plants choose ammunition carefully
Sep 03, 2009 |
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Plants are anything but as defenceless as they might seem. Various plant hormones work together to specifically fend off attacks. Dutch researcher Antonio Leon-Reyes has now shown how these hormones cooperate. By 'consulting' ...
Moths cloaked in color
Aug 31, 2009 |
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Travelers to the neotropics -- the tropical lands of the Americas -- might be forgiven for thinking that all of the colorful insects flittering over sunny puddles or among dense forest understory are butterflies. ...
A question of height: Learning from reintroduction of once extinct butterfly in Britain
Jul 02, 2009 |
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Intelligent countryside management could improve the survival chances of animal and plant species threatened by climate change. The creation of small heat-shielded habitats and better links between habitats ...
Insect gene expression responds to diet
May 07, 2009 |
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Cabbage looper caterpillars (Trichoplusia ni) are able to alter the expression of genes associated with metabolism, homeostasis and immunity in response to feeding on plants carrying bacteria. Research published in BioMed ...
Research on viral origins suggests new definition of virus may be needed
Biology /
Feb 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The strange interaction of a parasitic wasp, the caterpillar in which it lays its eggs and a virus that helps it overcome the caterpillar’s immune defenses has some scientists rethinking the ...
Honeybees as plant 'bodyguards'
Biology /
Dec 22, 2008 |
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Honeybees are important to plants for reasons that go beyond pollination, according to a new study published in the December 23rd issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The insects' buzz also d ...
Milkweed's evolutionary approach to caterpillars: Counter appetite with fast repair
Biology /
Jul 22, 2008 |
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The adage that your enemies know your weaknesses best is especially true in the case of plants and predators that have co-evolved: As the predators evolve new strategies for attack, plants counter with their own unique defenses.
