The degradation of plant defence substances by insect digestive enzymes can influence the insects‘ preference for certain food plants, a new study now shows for the first time. Scientists from the University of Münster, the University of Bern (Switzerland) and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena studied this phenomenon in larvae of the cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) and their food plant dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).