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Bugs keep bugs off monkeys

Nature (2003)Cite this article

A rub-down with a millipede deters biting insects.

South American capuchin monkeys ward off biting insects by rubbing themselves with toxic millipedes researchers have found1. The monkeys also go ape for tissues soaked in the insect repelling chemicals.

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References

  1. Weldon, P. J. et al. Benzoquinones from millipedes deter mosquitoes and elicit self-anointing in capuchin monkeys (Cebus spp.). Naturwissenschaften, doi:10.1007/s00114-003-0427-2 (2003).

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Authors
  1. John Whitfield
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 Cornell University New York

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Whitfield, J. Bugs keep bugs off monkeys. Nature (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/news030602-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news030602-5

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