Discovery of тАШanti-cannibalismтАЩ pheromone raises possibility of spraying crops with similar chemical as non-toxic insecticide
Locusts are voracious eaters with appetites that extend to members of their own species. Now scientists have discovered an тАЬanti-cannibalismтАЭ pheromone used by the insects to protect themselves in dense swarms, which could pave the way for novel pest control strategies. Scientists said the discovery raises a host of possibilities, including spraying crops with something similar to the protective pheromone as a non-toxic insecticide, or finding a way to reduce its impact among locusts and make them turn on each other more. тАЬYou could get the locusts to behave more cannibalistically and potentially control themselves in that way,тАЭ said Bill Hansson, the director of the┬аDepartment of Evolutionary Neuroethology┬аat the Max Planck Institute and senior author of the research. Cannibalism is widespread in nature. тАЬHumans invented ethical rules that stop us from being cannibals, but this is not the general rule in nature. For other species, meat is meat,тАЭ said Hansson. тАЬA fox will eat a dead fox, a rat will definitely eat another rat, a mouse will eat another mouse.тАЭ He added: тАЬFor locusts, people think they are living from grass and greenery, but they also will very clearly eat each other.тАЭ
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