Caterpillars die rather than switch

Caterpillars die rather than switch

A close-up of taste receptors outside a caterpillar’s mouth. del Campo / Cornell

Researchers have found a compound in potatoes and tomatoes that turns tobacco hornworm caterpillars into addicts.

In the lab, at least a third of hornworms become so addicted to the compound, indioside D, that they starve rather than switch to food without it, reports Marta del Campo, now of Binghamton University in New York.