Scientists have discovered that underground plant-eating insects can communicate with above-ground plant-eating insects using plants like telephones!
The underground plant-eating insects convey chemical messages through the plant stem and leaves, telling above-ground insects that they are there. The message is: "stay away, this is my plant! If you eat it too, it will die and we'll both have no food." This is a great way to spread out the "plant buffet" so that everybody gets enough food and the plants will survive to feed the bugs another day.
Sometimes this can backfire on the underground insects; parasitic wasps can intercept the signal and learn where the insects underground are, thus finding easy prey for their young.
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