Garden life is perhaps more devious than we think!

Three Security Anecdotes from the Insect World

Beet armyworm caterpillars react to the sound of a passing wasp by freezing in place, or even dropping off the plant. Unfortunately, armyworm intelligence isn't good enough to tell the difference between enemy aircraft (the wasps that prey on them) and harmless commercial flights (bees); they react the same way to either. So by producing nectar for bees, plants not only get pollinated, but also gain some protection against being eaten by caterpillars.

The small hive beetle lives by entering beehives to steal combs and honey. They home in on the hives by detecting the bees' own alarm pheromones. They also track in yeast that ferments the pollen and releases chemicals that spoof the alarm pheromones, attracting more beetles and more yeast. Eventually the bees abandon the hive, leaving the beetles and yeast to finish off the pollen and honey.

Mountain alcon blue caterpillars get ants to feed them by spoofing a biometric: the sounds made by the queen ant.

=====

Is it possible that the hive beetle contributed to the mysterious disappearance of honeybees, starving them until they leave the hives? (A mite has been suggested as a bee-killer, too.) The hive beetles, apparently imported from Africa, were discovered in Florida only in 1998, and the disappearance of honeybees was first noticed in 2007, at least for wide-spread reporting.