Chemical interference among plants mediated by grazing insects.

The experiments on Eucalyptus trees reported here demonstrate that allelopathic effects can be mediated by insects grazing on foliage. We show that the allelochemical nature of insect frass suppresses germination, growth and survival of herb layer species, that plant species vary in their tolerance of this material, and that as a result, the structure and composition of associated, herbaceous understory plant communities are markedly affected by frass fall.