When very hungry caterpillars turn into cannibals

Research shows that defensive chemicals emitted by plants cause armyworms to turn on each other

Caterpillars turn into cannibals and eat each other when plants deploy defensive chemicals to make their foliage less appetising, research has revealed.

While it was already known that caterpillars of many species munch on each other, and that plants have a range of defence mechanisms, it was not clear whether the two were linked.