The spitting image of plant defenses: Effects of plant secondary chemistry on the efficacy of caterpillar regurgitant as an anti-predator defense.

In the arms race between plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies, specialized herbivores may use plant defenses for their own benefit, and variation in plant traits may affect the benefits that herbivores derive from these defenses. is a specialist herbivore of plants containing glucosinolates, a specific class of defensive secondary metabolites. Caterpillars of are known to actively spit on attacking natural enemies, including their main parasitoid, the braconid wasp .