This common garden plant summons wasps as bodyguards
Short Wave
NPR
4.7 • 6.5K Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
When faced with pests, plants may not be able to run away – but that doesn’t mean they’re defenseless. Some have thorns or spines, others have poisonous leaves or berries, and still others have…elaborate chemical defense alarm systems? In a recent study, researchers discovered that the common bean plant, P. vulgaris, has a particularly innovative response to hungry caterpillars: a compound in the caterpillar's spit causes the plants to release a chemical signal that attracts wasps. Those wasps then eat the caterpillars or lay eggs in their bodies, effectively removing the threat. Today on the show, we’re diving into plant science and a round of other new scientific studies with All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer.
If you're interested in the fibermaxxing episode Han mentioned, check it out here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to Shortwave from NPR. |
| 0:06.0 | Hey, shortwavers, Regina Barber here. |
| 0:08.1 | And Hannah Chin with our bi-weekly science news roundup. |
| 0:11.0 | And we're lucky enough to have Sasha Pfeiffer back on the show third time in a row. |
| 0:15.4 | Hi, Regina. Hi, Hannah. Fun to be back with you. |
| 0:17.6 | All right, Sasha, our first topic is about beans and bean plants, surprising chemical |
| 0:22.5 | counterattack against caterpillars, which are a common garden pest. Ah, you know, given that fiber |
| 0:27.3 | has become such a wellness trend with everybody fiber maxing, I'll be very interested to hear about |
| 0:31.0 | this one. I mean, we also have an episode about fiber maxing. It just came out. Yeah. Then we're |
| 0:36.1 | going to talk about another pest. We're going to be talking about how best to teach mice. Yeah. Then we're going to talk about another pest. |
| 0:37.7 | We're going to be talking about how best to teach mice. |
| 0:40.6 | And lastly, we've got one more story about pests. |
| 0:43.5 | This time it's how the bug repellent deed could have a major Achilles heel. |
| 0:48.2 | You know, Han, I think today's episode is actually about nature adapting. |
| 0:52.5 | It's true. |
| 0:53.3 | Today on the show, adaptation for better and for worse. |
| 0:56.6 | You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR. |
| 1:07.5 | Okay, Sasha, we have so much to get through, but you talked about fiber maxing, so let's start with beans. |
| 1:12.5 | Let's do that. The more fiber for the world, the better. |
| 1:15.7 | Yeah, so this story is an amazing example of plant versus animal warfare. And it might make you think a little differently about how crafty plants can be in defending themselves. And it all centers around the common bean |
| 1:28.5 | plant. So this is the one I feel like a lot of grade schoolers grow in classrooms. It's a garden |
| 1:33.3 | staple, the bush bean or pole bean. And it turns out it has an elaborate chemical defense |
... |
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