Researchers have discovered a unique way in which plants can protect insect larvae from wildfires. The discovery was made by Jean Carlos Santos, an ecologist at the Federal University of Sergipe in Brazil, who found that certain plant galls created by parasitic weevils provide a flameproof shelter for their offspring.
Santos and his team collected dozens of galls from Solanum lycocarpum plants, which are common in Brazilian savannas. They then exposed some galls to wildfires and others to non-burned conditions. To their surprise, the larvae inside the burned galls survived at a rate of 66 percent.
The key to this survival was found to be the thickness of the gall’s epidermis, which protects the larvae from heat and flames. The researchers also found that some larvae could survive in burned galls while others perished.
While the study provides new insights into plant-insect adaptations to wildfires, forest entomologist Nadir Erbilgin warned that climate change may undermine these defenses. “As climate change brings more frequent and intense fires,” he said, “these plant and insect adaptations might not be enough to protect them.”
The discovery highlights the complex relationships between plants, insects, and their environments, and underscores the need for further research into how organisms adapt to changing conditions.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/science/weevils-wildfires-galls-brazil.html