Chemical deterrents, plant defenses

Variations in plant nutrients and herbivore-deterrent plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) across a landscape create a chemically complex environment that may influence the distribution and abundance of animal species [9]. The defensive and nutritional chemistry of not majority, but many plant populations are highly variable [10], Spatial hotspots of highly palatable or highly unpalatable plants are ecologically important, because the probability of a plant being eaten depends not... 

Monarch butterflies t.g., Danaus plexipus) combine two sets of natural compounds. Larvae feed on plants rich in cardiac glycosides and use them as chemical defense compounds. Adult butterflies visit plants with PAs, where they collect PAs that are converted to pheromones or transferred to their eggs 4,17,31,33,361,515). A similar PA utilization scheme was observed with larvae of the moth Utetheisa ornatrix 367,516), where the compounds were shown to be deterrent for spiders and birds 225, 525). The chrysomelid beetle Oreina feeds on PA-containing plants, such as Adenostyles, and stores the dieUuy PAs in the defense fluid 463,524). 

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