Just as crying babies on planes bother us, moths also feel stressed by the “crying” of plants. We don’t hear them, but their distressed sounds can be quite audible (and annoying) to insects.
One published in the magazine eLife in November this year suggests that insects listen to the sounds made by suffering plants — and Based on these noises, they make the most important decision of their lives.
“All of the moth’s children will develop based on this specific choice that she made, and she has to make a quick and very good decision,” he explains. Rya Seltzerentomologist at Tel Aviv University, cited by
Some moths are able to hear the clicks made by plants, say researchers, who now claim to have discovered that insects can interpret sounds as a clue to choose the plant where they will lay their eggs.
Scientists carried out the test with a species of moth called Egyptian cotton wool bugwhich is known to be capable of hearing the sounds made by some plants. And there are several who are really distressed.
But why do plants cry?
Why are dehydratedfor example. Just like a baby who is hungry or thirsty, plants also express themselves in the same way, with a slight difference — they don’t bother humans.
In the case study, scientists soon realized that the moths preferred to lay their eggs in a thriving plant, which is more likely to provide enough food for newly hatched larvaerather than on a dehydrated plant.
But what if that plant makes distressing noises? Then the case changes. The females were presented with two hydrated tomato plants, both healthy. But one of them emitted distressing pre-recorded sounds that would be emitted by a dehydrated tomato plant. The moths, they discovered, undoubtedly preferred to lay their eggs on the “silent” plant, explain the researchers.
Now, all that remains is to prove this study in an experiment in the natural environment, since behaviors in the laboratory may be different, explain the scientists. Even so, “this is completely new”explains the author.
Jodi Sedlocka sensory ecologist at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, believes additional research is needed, for example, into how moths might use these acoustic cues in combination with odors and other signals from a plant.
It also says that “Many insects hear ultrasound and many plants produce ultrasound under stress“, he said. “I bet this is a very broad phenomenon.”
According to Francesca Barberozoologist at the University of Turin, this study “could open the way for new investigations into plant bioacoustics“.
