Theobromine, present in the cacao tree ( Theobroma cacao), plays a similar role.
And the caffeine/theine in tea plants serves the same purpose: to repel or kill insects that attack the plant. Note that theine, produced by the tea plant ( Camellia sinensis) and present in tea, is actually just caffeine: the two are chemically indistinguishable. Several companies are working on deriving an organic pesticide from caffeine and other similar substances. Caffeine-treated mosquito larvae, for example, become so poorly coordinated that they can no longer swim and end up drowning. Source: loraDid you know that caffeine is an insecticide? Moreover, that the coffee plant ( Coffea arabica and others) produces it in order to protect itself from predatory insects? When under attack by unwanted invertebrates, moreover, the coffee plant increases the dose of caffeine, often producing enough to kill the intruder.Ĭaffeine extracts applied to various insects (milkweed bugs, caterpillars, mosquito larvae, etc.) cause agitation, reduce appetite, inhibit reproduction, and can even lead to death. The coffee plant ( Coffea arabica), a common houseplant, produces its own insecticide: caffeine.
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