US EditionStudy finds oak trees delay leaves to outwit hungry caterpillars
Researchers found the three-day delay cuts leaf damage by 55% after heavy caterpillar feeding, showing oak trees can respond flexibly to insect pressure.
- Oak trees deliberately delay sprouting leaves by three days following heavy caterpillar infestations, according to new research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution by lead author Soumen Mallick of the Julius Maximilian University.
- Heavy caterpillar infestations, including a 2019 Lymantria outbreak, strip trees bare; the subsequent three-day delay ensures insects hatch to a "bare cupboard" rather than fresh leaves, significantly reducing their survival rate.
- Researchers at the Julius Maximilian University analyzed 27,500 pixels across a 2400-square-kilometer area in Bavaria using Sentinel-1 radar satellites to track canopy conditions between 2017 and 2021.
- The strategy is "highly effective," reducing feeding damage by 55%, though trees face an "evolutionary tug-of-war" where rising temperatures push earlier sprouting while insect pressure forces them to delay.
- While James Cahill at the University of Alberta in Canada calls the findings plausible, he notes the delay could be a physiological response to leaf loss rather than intentional adaptation, requiring further research.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Oak Trees Deploy Delay Tactics to Protect Against Hungry Caterpillars
Two Oak Trees in Spring Showcasing Leaf Growth Variations Sven Finberg After extensive leaf consumption by caterpillars in one season, oak trees experience a delay in bud opening by three days the following spring. This phenomenon ensures that when caterpillars hatch, their food source is scarce, resulting in a significant reduction in caterpillar survival and, [...] The post Oak Trees Deploy Delay Tactics to Protect Against Hungry Caterpillars …
An international team of researchers has discovered how oaks are protected from their “predators”, such as caterpillars or moths: if one year they suffer an infestation, the next day they spring up to prevent the larvae from eating their tender leaves and thereby reducing their chances of survival, as well as the damage they cause to trees. In the study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, researchers explain that many insects, especially c…
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