hoodat
Garden Addicted
I just read an article that may interest you. Plants talk to one another all the time but as usual our human senses are too doim to pick up on it.
What do they say? Things like,"Watch out guys, there's a fungus among us". Or, "Send help. The bugs are eating me alive". Surprisingly that help is often sent, even from plants of a different species or predatory insects.
Here's an excerpt. The entire article is available at:
http://www.euromed.org.uk/plant-communication.html
Well, lima beans, like it or not, might be around for quite awhile because these clever legumes can also outsmart spider mites. Scientists at Kyoto University in Japan discovered that not only did the lima beans in their experiment release chemicals that diminished their own flavor, but the same chemicals prompted a whole new wave of protection for their neighbors. The compounds warned unaffected lima bean plants that trouble was on the way. These plants, in turn, sent out their own arsenal of chemicals that not only deterred the spider mites, but called in the reserves a species of mite that ate the offending ones! Scientists have determined that the signaling from damaged plants is triggered by chemicals in the saliva of the insect pests.While these examples illustrate how plants can avoid insect damage through some fancy chemical trickery, some insects arent settling for second place. Not to be outdone, a species of female parasitic wasp can coax the plants she calls home to produce a scent that attracts males of her species.
Now we know where,"Love Potion Number Nine" comes from
What do they say? Things like,"Watch out guys, there's a fungus among us". Or, "Send help. The bugs are eating me alive". Surprisingly that help is often sent, even from plants of a different species or predatory insects.
Here's an excerpt. The entire article is available at:
http://www.euromed.org.uk/plant-communication.html
Well, lima beans, like it or not, might be around for quite awhile because these clever legumes can also outsmart spider mites. Scientists at Kyoto University in Japan discovered that not only did the lima beans in their experiment release chemicals that diminished their own flavor, but the same chemicals prompted a whole new wave of protection for their neighbors. The compounds warned unaffected lima bean plants that trouble was on the way. These plants, in turn, sent out their own arsenal of chemicals that not only deterred the spider mites, but called in the reserves a species of mite that ate the offending ones! Scientists have determined that the signaling from damaged plants is triggered by chemicals in the saliva of the insect pests.While these examples illustrate how plants can avoid insect damage through some fancy chemical trickery, some insects arent settling for second place. Not to be outdone, a species of female parasitic wasp can coax the plants she calls home to produce a scent that attracts males of her species.
Now we know where,"Love Potion Number Nine" comes from
