蜜蜂可警告专吃叶片的毛虫，使其离开，从而保护植物免受毛虫的侵扰。这是德国巴伐利亚州的Biozentrum大学的科学家发现的规律。毛虫具有敏感的触毛，可帮助其感知空气中的振动，例如来自步步逼近的略食者。一条毛虫的生命确实不简单。鸟类和食肉性的黄蜂都喜欢毛虫。其中，有几种黄蜂甚至利用毛虫作为其幼虫的寄主。因此，毛虫进化出多种独特的功能，如触毛，可保护其不受天敌的伤害。

Jurgen Tautz和同事们认识到，毛虫的触毛并未发进化完全，它不能分辨捕食的黄蜂和无害的蜜蜂。如果一个飞行的物体靠近，在适宜范围内产生空气振动，毛虫会停止移动或从植物表面掉落。当果树开满花时，会有许多蜜蜂飞来采蜜。而此时的毛虫，由于受到蜜蜂的压力，其食量大大减少，Tautz解释道。

科学家们曾经做过一项试验，将甜椒与甜菜夜蛾的毛虫及蜜蜂置入帐篷内。结果发现，甜椒得到了蜜蜂的保护，其叶片的损失减少了60%-70%。此项发现也许能为可持续农业开发实际的应用。在毛虫肆虐的地区，在农作物周围种满观赏植物，利用其盛开的花朵吸引蜜蜂，可能会增加作物的产量。

推荐原始出处：

Current Biology, 23 December 2008 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.038

Honeybee buzz attenuates plant damage by caterpillars

Jürgen Tautz1,andMichael Rostás2

1 BEEgroup, Biozentrum Universit?t Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
2 Botanic II, Biozentrum Universit?t Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

Summary

In recent years, it has become evident that indirect interactions between members of food webs can significantly influence ecosystem functions. For example, predators affect prey populations through either consumption (density-mediated interactions) or, equally important, by changing prey behavior or phenotype (trait-mediated interactions). Nonconsumptive effects of predators on prey may alter plant species diversity and plant performance [1,2]. Pollination and herbivory are the most important ecological and evolutionary relationships between plants and insects [3]. Honeybees are dominant as pollinators while caterpillars are very efficient plant despoilers [4]. Despite the long and intense study of honeybees, however, indirect effects of this pollinator on other food web members have hardly been assessed. Here we report on a newly discovered link that connects these two ecological functions: honeybees merely flying around vegetation significantly reduce plant destruction by caterpillars.