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Soon after hatching the young larvae moult for the first time and adopt a colored pattern. Like their mother, larvae are able to excrete the noxious, poisonous liquid to paralyse other insects when attacked. When excreted by the youngsters, the smell of the liquid alerts their mother who then hurries to their defense. The liquid therefore acts as what is called a "pheromone". A pheromone is a substance that conveys a message from one individual of a species to another. Pheromones invoke specific types of behaviour in the individual that receives the message and are widely used amongst insects to find a mate or to maintain order in colonies. |
