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How plants defend themselves against insect damage.

Plants employ many tactics in their battle against insect damage. These electron-microscope images show some of the ways insects are deterred from settling on plants.


Hairs or trichomes are outgrowths from epidermal cells and can develop on any part of the plant surface. Trichomes may be uni- or multicellular, branched or unbranched and very variable in length.

Hairs may physically deter insects from landing, walking and feeding on plants and thus help reduce insect damage. They may also trap moisture and reduce water loss.

Glandular trichomes typically have an obvious globular head which can be made up of one or more cells. These hairs produce toxic and/or sticky exudates which deter insects from landing, and feeding, on the plant.