Plants tell caterpillars when it's safe to forage
...d regulate herbivore behavior. When the larvae of beet armyworms ( Spodoptera exigua ) feed on corn, the plant releases volatile compounds that act as a magnet for parasitic wasps ( Cotesia marginiventris ), which deposit their eggs in the larvae. Production of volatile chemicals increases during the day......tting to the root of problems throughout the sugar beet industry. The sugar beet industry moved out of Texas in 1997 after the close of the processing plant at Hereford. But the gro...