Insect defenses against phototoxic plant chemicals.

In addition to avoidance strategies, insects may use one or more biochemical defenses against phototoxic plant constituents or the reactive forms of oxygen they generate. These biochemical defenses may include metabolism; excited state quenching; deactivation of singlet oxygen, superoxide, or free radicals; and destruction of reaction products. This article is a survey of the antioxidative enzymes and simpler molecules produced by insects and their possible roles in combating phototoxic chemicals.