Thanks for the welcome guys!
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Originally Posted by posie  What other examples are there of insects ( or other ) changing the appearance or damaging parts of plants , trees , etc ?  |
There are several interesting galls which are caused by things other than insects. Nice examples which you might easily see in England include the Crown Gall - caused by
Agrobacterium spp. These are the same genus of bacteria which have been harnessed in the invention of genetic engineering - they modify the host plant by transferring some of their DNA into the genome of the host plant, which then grows a perfect home in which the bacteria can thrive.
Another example is the gall left by mistetoe on oaks. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant - it gains most of its nutrition by penetrating the host tree with its roots and stealing nutrients. On oaks, a gall can develop around the site of penetration. Once the mistletoe plant dies, the gall can be left as a giant deformation on the tree - you can easily spot these on old oak trees. If you see a really old oak with a big round lump several feet across, this is a relic of a previous invasion by mistletoe.
A nice guide to some cool galls can be found here...
Plant Galls
Another way in which insects have modified plants is in the numerous examples of myrmecophily ("ant loving"). This is when a plant species and an ant species have evolved a symbiotic relationship in which each partner benefits (termed a 'mutualistic' association).
There are some really cool examples. I particularly like the swollen-thorn acacia species (
Swollen Thorn Acacias) which develops giant hollow spikes. The ants live inside the spikes, using them as a fortress. If an animal tries to eat the tree, the ants attack it viciously. In return, the acacia grows tiny, nutritious, nectar covered buds which the ants collect as food.
Many carnivorous pitcher plants, a
Nepenthes spp., have an association with ants which drink nectar from the pool in the bottom of its digestive chamber. In some associations, the ants help the plant by killing off mosquito larvae which like to grow in the fluid, but which prevent the plant from obtaining the nutrients it needs. In others, the ants attack predators which might disturb the plant. Sometimes they actually live within the chamber of the plant, and in other cases they visit periodically.
Read more here
Co-operation Between Ants and Plants
-Blahah