A research team of ecologists in the Netherlands has discovered that herbivore insects make use of plant life to communicate with one another. Insects living underground deposit chemical “markers” on the leaves of neighboring plants, alerting other insects that the area is occupied. This chemical communication system is important to prevent insects from competing for the same plant.
It has long been known that animals communicate through many different methods, including noises, body language and odor; but the new research suggests that insects are effectively using plants as “communication tools,” in much the same way that humans use telephones to communicate important information across a great distance.
The research was carried out by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, and the particular project which led to this discovery was headed up by Roxina Soler Gamborena, a Ph.D. candidate in ecological studies. The new research highlights the complicated interaction between sub terrestrial insects and plant and animal life above ground.
The scientists theorize that certain insects evolved through natural selection to use surrounding plant life as a communications tool to avoid overfeeding on particular plants. This behavior benefits not only the insects, but the plants themselves, and helps to keep the entire ecosystem in balance.
Researchers have dubbed the plant communication the “green phone line,” because it allows insects living deep underground to communicate information to animals on the surface and protect their living environment. The communication signals transmitted through the plants can be received and understood by a wide variety of animal life, including caterpillars, wasps and other insects.
Technically, the “green phone line” works like this: root-eating insects living underground deposit chemicals on the leaves of plants above. These chemical markers warn other insects that the plant is being fed on from below, which discourages them from feeding on it above ground. This is important because research has shown that insects that feed on plants which are also being consumed below ground — at the root level — receive less nutrients from the plant and will develop slower.
The chemical communication carried out via the plant is a clear warning to insects above; “if you feed on this plant you will not receive proper nutrition.” It has been observed that even flying insects will avoid feeding on the plant containing the chemical marker, suggesting that communicating via plant life is an effective and mutually beneficial behavior among insects.
As human beings, we often like to think that we are the only life forms with the ability to communicate over long distances, or to use tools to do so. But this new ecological research clearly demonstrates that even subterranean insects are adept communicators and tool users.
