{"id":20867,"date":"2022-09-26T15:22:45","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T13:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=68090"},"modified":"2022-09-26T15:48:36","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T13:48:36","slug":"boys-discovery-reveals-mind-blowing-plant-insect-interaction","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/boys-discovery-reveals-mind-blowing-plant-insect-interaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy\u2019s discovery reveals \u201cmind-blowing\u201d plant-insect interaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Kenny Taylor\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 26 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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When Hugo Deans pointed out some seed-like objects near an ant nest, his father, Andrew, recognised them as oak<\/a> galls<\/a> \u2013 plant growths triggered by insects.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised that ants would collect galls,\u201d says Hugo, now age 10, \u201cbecause why would they do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hugo found a handful of round objects lying near an ant nest in his garden. \u00a9 Heather Hines<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

When certain wasps<\/a> lay eggs in an oak leaf, the tree surrounds them with hard-cased galls, protecting the leaf and sheltering the wasp larvae.<\/p>\n

Some flowering plants also make edible growths that ants relish, and through eating them, the insects help to disperse seeds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More related content:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to identify plant galls<\/a><\/p>\n

Researchers discover love vine\u2019s twisted relationship with gall wasp<\/a><\/p>\n

Do British wasps ever feed on carrion?<\/a><\/p>\n

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Now all three things have been linked by Andrew Deans and fellow entomologists at Pennsylvania State University<\/a> and their findings have been published in The American Naturalist<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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