This is not communication. The subterranean insects probably know nothing at all about the above ground insects feeding on the leaves. Thinking about it evolu

This is not communication. The subterranean insects probably know nothing at all about the above ground insects feeding on the leaves. Thinking about it evolutionarily in two ways 1) plants into which the subterranean insects unknowingly inject their distasteful chemicals live longer because above ground insects do not eat them to death, thus the subterranean insects live longer and propagate more. 2) in A Walk In the Woods, I read about trees that when chewed upon by an outside force, will produce a chemical that will drive the predator away. They can even send signals to other trees. This same chemical may be the one that fends off the above ground predators, but the subterranean ones are immune. Anyway, there are many explanations for this phenomenon that do not include the conscious "use" of the plant to communicate with other animals of other species. The article is misleading at best. using a telephone is a process which implies that the caller believes to some degree that someone else will answer the phone and a conversation can be had. There's nothing of that sort going on here...