This change in a plant in turn affects any insects that subsequently arrive on it, but also the natural enemies of herbivorous insects. Because the properties of plants change continuously and because insects react to the changes, an extremely dynamic community develops, on which the plants exert a critical influence. These findings by biologists from the Laboratory of Entomology at Wageningen University were recently published in the leading journal Annual Review of Plant Biology.
Plants recognise different insect attackers, after which plant molecular mechanisms activate various defences within a timescale ranging from minutes to days. Via various routes, plant hormones subsequently induce the production of compounds that repel herbivores.
Other defence mechanisms cause the herbivores to be attacked by insectivores that the plant actively attracts by means of the emission of volatiles. These reactions have an effect within hours or several days.
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