Phytophagous[1]MeansBiological interactionOne, usuallyanimalThe phenomenon of eating plants.There is hardly any plant that is not eaten by animals. Among animals, from lower animals to higher animals, there are many species that eat plants exclusively.It is natural for animals to eat plantsfood chainIt is also the basic link of the food chain, and other links of the food chain depend on the existence of this link. It can be seen that all animals rely directly or indirectly on plants for food.
Phytophagous[1]MeansanimaleatBotanyProperties of.There is hardly any plant that is not eaten by animals. Among animals, from lower animals to higher animals, there are many species that eat plants exclusively.It is natural for animals to eat plantsfood chainIt is also the basic link of the food chain, and other links of the food chain depend on the existence of this link. It can be seen that all animals rely directly or indirectly on plants for food.The number of herbivores has a significant impact on the number of plants, which in turn limits the number of animals. In the long-term evolution process, this relationship has formed a delicate balance.The production of plants is enough to feed all animals, and animals often eat only the "excess" part of the production of plants.
Animals eat plants in a variety of ways. Some eat the whole plant, some eat most of the plant, some eat the vital parts of the plant and cause the plant to die, some dig into the leaves, fruits and xylem of the plant for food, and some eat the juice and nectar of the plant,But most animals only eat non vital parts and vegetative organs of plants, so they will not cause major damage to plants, or even affect plant growth completelyFloraEvolution andAnimal kingdomThe evolution of is closely linked.
Phytophagous species
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In nature, many animals feed on plants, such as locusts, silkworms, cabbage caterpillars, rabbits, horses, cattle, sheep, camels, etc.
Herbivores usually have two stomachs. The front one is equivalent to a food storage bag, and the latter one is used for digesting food. It has the behavior of rumination. Generally, when resting, it can spit out food and chew repeatedly, chew carefully and swallow slowly. Digestive enzymes in the stomach can digest cellulose, mainly starch enzymes. The structure of the stomach wall is divided into four layers, and the stomach has strong peristaltic ability.
Rabbits and others feed on tender plants such as grass, vegetable leaves and radishes, and generally have teeth suitable for cutting plants and grinding food;The intestines are very long, especially the small intestine, which is the main part of food digestion;The cecum is developed, with a large number of microorganisms, which can decompose the indigestible crude fiber into substances that can be absorbed and utilized.
Phytophagous insects are the most, estimated at about 350000 species, and other statistics show thatPhytophagous insectAbout 48% of the total number of insects.According to the range of plant feeding groups, insects can be divided into monophagous insects that only feed on one plant, such as Cynipini species of gall wasps;Feeding only on a few plant speciesoligophagous insect , such asmonarch butterfly Larva;The polyphagous insects of many plant groups, such as gypsy moth, feed on trees of most genera and species. The host plants of Chinese red wax scale are at least 50 families and about 200 species.
Insects that feed on plant leaves have "sharp teeth" that adapt to feeding, that is, their“Masticatory mouthpiece”。The chewing mouthpiece is the most original type of mouthpiece, suitable for taking solid food, and consists of one piece of upper lip, one piece of lower lip, one piece of tongue, and two pieces of upper jaw and two pieces of lower jaw.The upper jaw is very hard and is the main organ for chewing food.The front part has sharp teeth, which is used to cut food, similar to human incisors;The back is rough, with uneven grooves on it for grinding and chewing food, similar to our molars;The lower jaw and lower lip also have tactile and gustatory tentacles.
elephant
butterfly
parrot
camel
snail
Green iguana
Little white rabbit
Scarab
honeybee
Defense evolution
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Phytophagous animal[2]For mammals that feed on insects, the transition to herbivores is more complicated than that to animals that prey on large prey.They gradually evolved into incisors and molars, which are used to cut food, while molars grind the cut food into pulp. More importantly, they evolved into a complex digestive system, which is full of microorganisms, enabling them to decompose food.Many of these animals have evolved long limbs and hoofs.In other words, they can escape when attacked to avoid danger.In the Early Tertiary, several ungulate placental mammalian lineages appeared in different regions of the world.These include the early ancestors of modern elephants, tapirs and rhinoceroses.
The existence of phytophagous animals has caused tremendous survival pressure to plants, forcing plants to develop a series of defense measures. However, it should be understood that this defense is only of relative significance, because animals are also constantly improving their adaptation to plants.
Plants cannot avoid animals by taking actions, but some plants can evolve hard skins or have sharp spines, poisonous hairs, and make animals unpalatable or toxicsecondary metabolismMaterial to resist animal feeding.Some plants can die because animals eat most of them or fatal parts, but most of them can still survive if only non fatal parts are eaten.Some higher plants have evolved "food only" parts to facilitate seed transmission, such as nectar and pulp, which attract animals to eat, so as to spread seeds.
mutual benefit
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Insects and plants have evolved over hundreds of millions of years to form various types of relationships, which can be roughly classified into three categories according to their impact on plants: insects feed on plants;Insects help plants reproduce;Insects and plants are mutually beneficial.Insects can eat different parts of plants in different ways, such as chewing tender stems and leaves, and sucking plant juice;Predation seed;Forming galls on leaves and other parts;Boring living tissues of plants, etc.The second relationship is very beneficial to plants. Some groups of insects will help plants pollinate, such as hymenoptera bees, lepidoptera moth butterflies, and some diptera flies.The plants unexpectedly bloomed colorful flowers, emitting charming fragrance to "attract bees and attract butterflies", and offered nectar and pollen to "insect matchmakers", so that insects could help them pollinate and reproduce;Ants help plants reproduce by transporting seeds to suitable germination sites.There is also a mutual benefit relationship between insects and plants. Insects live in a special structure of plants. In return, insects provide nutrition for their "landlords", or provide protection for the enemies who invade plants, or both.
Food habits classification
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Herbivores
Artiodactyla, such as cattle, sheep, deer, camels, alpacas, hippos;horse;White Rhinoceros;Rabbit;Giant Panda（Omnivorous animal, the main food is bamboo);Kangaroo;Some rodents: such as guinea pig, porcupine, capybara, lemmingPrairie dog；Tortoise;grasshopper.
Plant food[3]They have two advantages. On the one hand, they are easy to find, and on the other hand, they will not escape.For small animals, there is another benefitPlants are good hiding places.But eating plants also has its disadvantages, because this kind of food is slow to eat and not easy to digestAn elephant in the secret army can eat 1/3 tons of food every day. They often push down trees to eat leaves on branches.
Leaf eater
Leaf miners feed on leaf tissue, black rhinoceros, cervidae, elephant, sloth, and koala;Some primates, such as gorillas and lemurs;Musk pheasant and kakapo;Some reptiles: such as tortoises and green iguanas;Broadwaist: caterpillars, leaf miners, most snails, slugs.
Fruit eating animals
Some primates, such asorangutan, Ghost Night Monkey;flying fox;Some birds, such as parrots, hornbills, and toucans;Drosophila melanogaster;Coconut crab.
Cerebrate
Some rodents, such as hamsters, squirrels and flying squirrels;Weevil;Finches.
Honey eater
Bee;Honeybee ant;butterfly;hawkmoth;Golden tortoise;Hummingbird;Honeybird;Some passeriformes: such as sunbirds and flower peckers;Long snouted opossum;Some bats: such as Ecuadorian long tongued bat, Soger long tongued bat and long tongued fruit bat.
Juicy animal
Aphids feed on plant juice: aphids and stink bugs;Cervicorhynchus.
