#+HashtagPLUS
In

Menu

Post image 1
Post image 2
Post image 3
Post image 4
Post image 5
Post image 6
Post image 7
Post image 8
Post image 9
Post image 10
Post image 11
Post image 12
Post image 13
Post image 14
Post image 15
Post image 16
Post image 17
Post image 18
Post image 19
Post image 20
Post image 21
Post image 22
Post image 23
Post image 24
Post image 25
Post image 26
1 / 26
0

How oak trees outwit their predators

phys.org·University of Würzburg·about 1 month ago
#7tWHWMlN
#icon_clock#icon_close#icon_comment#science#icon_twitter#trees
Reading 0:00
15s threshold

The plate is empty: a caterpillar waits for the leaves to sprout. Credit: Sven Finnberg Spring in the forest: Many insects, particularly caterpillars, hatch just when the trees' nutrient-rich leaves are still young and soft. This means they find a table laden with food and can start eating straight away. If oak trees are heavily infested by caterpillars in a given year, they react to this the following spring: they delay their leaf emergence by three days. This is unfavorable for the caterpillars. After hatching, they are literally faced with empty plates, because the oak leaves are still firmly hidden in the buds. This strategy is highly effective: the three-day delay is sufficient to drastically reduce the insects' survival rate. And it reduces the damage caused by feeding on the tree by an impressive 55%. A team of international researchers report this in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution .…

Continue reading — create a free account

Join HashtagPLUS to read full articles, follow hashtags, vote, and join the conversation.

Create free accountLog in
Read More