The latest on insect communication...seriously
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We know what you’re asking yourselves as the weekend approaches: How do subterranean insects communicate with above-ground bugs?
No? Well, think about it! The folks at the Sierra Club have details:
A team at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology has just uncovered a secret bug messaging system in which underground insects emit chemical signals through plant leaves. The message? ‘Hey, this one’s taken.’ The mechanism (a product of natural selection, scientists say) prevents needless competition between root-munchers and leaf-eaters. No one knows yet how widespread the insect communication network is, but one thing is sure: It makes cellphones seem so this century. Source: Environmental News Network
-- Alice Short
Photo: Dean Fosdick / Associated Press