The American scientists found that the toxin from the mite reduced the time necessary to bring the plant-eating insects under control by 40 percent.
The sawflies are a group of largely plant-eating (herbivorous) insects.
The ants usually protect their host plant, eating both the nectar and plant-eating insects on it.
These insects will eat both the nectar and any plant-eating insects found near the plant.
His research focuses on the interaction between plant-eating insects and the plants themselves.
There is no shortage of candidate control agents, but attention has focused on plant-eating insects.
In exchange for food and shelter, the ants protect the Piper plant from vines and other plant-eating insects.
The old world swallowtail caterpillar developed resistance to these poisonous substances, thus reducing competition with other plant-eating insects.
There are a lot more plant-eating insects in the tropics, too, and scientists have long wondered why.
Sugar ants collect secretions made by plant-eating insects.