Contact: Dr. Ian T. Baldwin
baldwin@ice.mpg.de
49-364-157-1101
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Tobacco Hornworm Larvae Feeding on Wild Annual Tobacco

Caption: Manduca sexta larvae (tobacco hornworm) feeding on the wild annual tobacco Nicotiana attenuata in the Great Basin Desert, Utah, USA. These voracious larvae often completely defoliate plants, largely due to their ability to cope with the plant’s induced defences. To reduce fitness loss from attacks by this adapted herbivore, the plant recognizes the attack and activates a kinase complex which directs photoassimilates (sugars) to the roots for storage and later mobilization to support seed production when the larvae has pupated and is no longer a threat for the plant.

Credit: Danny Keßler, MPI Chemical Ecology

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