When a caterpillar chews on a corn leaf, compounds in its saliva trigger the plant to release a blend of airborne scents. The signal attracts tiny parasitic wasps that lay their eggs inside the caterpillars, which are then eaten from within. The plant effectively hires bodyguards, and agronomists are drawing on this to protect crops with fewer pesticides.
In 2022, a young tagged bar-tailed godwit flew from Alaska to Tasmania in about 11 days of nonstop flight, covering 13,560 km without eating, drinking or landing. Before departure, these birds pile on huge fat reserves and shrink their digestive organs, which are useless during the journey.
To escape rivals, a dung beetle rolls its ball of dung in a straight line. At night, it holds its course using the glowing band of the Milky Way. In a planetarium, researchers showed that beetles rolled straight under a starry sky but wandered aimlessly when the galaxy was switched off. It was the first animal known to navigate this way.