Insects use plants as 'green phones'

London. June 13 (IANS) Insects use plants as 'green phones' for communication with other bugs, scientists say.

Herbivorous insects store their voicemails via their effects on soil fungi. Among the messages left are warnings not to eat a poisonous plant.

This messaging service was discovered in the ragwort plant by researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) and Wageningen University, Daily Mail reported.

A few years ago, NIOO scientists discovered that soil-dwelling and above-ground insects are able to communicate with one another using the plant as a telephone.

Insects eating plant roots change the chemical composition of the leaves, causing the plant to release volatile signals into the air, the Mail said Wednesday.

This can convince above-ground insects to select another food plant in order to avoid competition and to escape from poisonous defence compounds in the plant.

--Indo-Asian news Service

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