Liza Gross

“ The effect of photoperiod (the 24-hour daylight cycle) is so great that zoos can trick nocturnal animals into becoming active for visitors simply by keeping their exhibit dark in the daytime and illuminating it at night.But the world is filled with cues that could influence the daily feeding patterns of an organism. Many plants, for example, respond to foraging damage by releasing specialized chemical signals—volatile organic compounds that evaporate in the air—that attract the forager's natural enemies. ”

“ Light and temperature exert significant control over the daily lives of plants and animals. Many nocturnal species feed during the cover of night to escape a bevy of potential predators that hunt during the day. ”

“ When larvae in the dark were exposed to volatiles from uninfested plants, they hid in far greater numbers when the volatiles came from plants in the light than when they came from plants in the dark. And when larvae were in the light, far more hid when exposed to volatiles taken from plants in the light. Larvae responded similarly to volatiles taken from infested plants, though volatiles from infested plants in the light sent even more larvae into hiding.These results demonstrate that it is not light that's controlling larval diurnal and nocturnal activity but volatiles released by the corn. ”