A parasitoid overcomes collective defense by silencing host communication
Gregarious insects communicate to coordinate group responses to danger, such as parasitoid attack. While parasitoids manipulate individual hosts through diverse virulence mechanisms, it remains unknown whether they can directly disrupt communication underlying collective defense. Here, we show that the parasitoid wasp Ephedrus lacertosus uses venom to suppress aphid alarm pheromone release during…
We haven't written up this one. bioRxiv has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.
