Question

If an insect ate a plant loaded with phytoecdysone, it would:

Select one:
a. have a bitter experience and stop eating the plant
b. have its ability to digest plants reduced making it starve
c. molt too often and transform into its adult stage too early and die prematurely a deadly good answer
d. develop a sensitivity to ultraviolet light and experience sores on its outer body
e. never grow into its adult stage (stay juvenile forever)

Answer 1

Ingesting a plant loaded with phytoecdysone can cause an insect to molt too frequently and reach adulthood prematurely, which could result in early death. This is because phytoecdysone can disrupt the normal hormonal signaling that regulates insect development.

Step-by-step explanation:

If an insect ate a plant loaded with phytoecdysone, the insect is likely to molt too often and transform into its adult stage too early, potentially leading to premature death. This has to do with the way phytoecdysone can mimic or interfere with the insect hormones responsible for molting and development. Insects such as monarch butterflies, which consume milkweed, can tolerate certain plant toxins and even use them as a defense mechanism against predation. However, this is not the case with all chemicals produced by plants, and in the case of phytoecdysone, it can have deleterious effects on an insect's life cycle.

Plants deploy a variety of defense mechanisms to deter herbivory, including producing compounds that are toxic, distasteful, or that disrupt hormonal processes within herbivores. While some insects have evolved to detoxify or tolerate these compounds, others may not have, leading to various negative outcomes, such as those illustrated in the case of ingesting phytoecdysone.