Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found evidence that plants and insects may communicate through sound, revealing a new dimension in how species interact in nature.
According to a study published in the journal eLife, female moths appear to detect ultrasonic distress signals emitted by dehydrated tomato plants and use these cues to choose egg-laying sites, reports Reuters.
Moths typically lay their eggs on tomato plants so that their larvae have a food source once they hatch.
The research was led by Rya Seltzer and Guy Zer Eshel in the laboratories of Yossi Yovel and Lilach Hadany, both professors at the university's Wise Faculty of Life Sciences.
"We revealed the first evidence for acoustic interaction between a plant and an insect," the team said in a statement.
The findings build on previous research by the group, which revealed that plants emit ultrasonic sounds when under stress.
This discovery may have significant implications for agriculture and pest management, potentially allowing farmers to influence crop health and insect behavior using sound-based methods.
While the ultrasonic sounds emitted by plants are outside the range of human hearing, they can be picked up by many insects and some mammals, such as bats.
Investigating this preference, the researchers presented female moths with two healthy tomato plants – one with a speaker playing sounds registered from a drying plant, and one that was silent.
The moths preferred the silent option, suggesting they use these cues to identify optimal sites for laying eggs.
Further experiments confirmed that the moths' choices were guided specifically by sound and only to sounds from the plants.
"Here, we've seen that there are animals that are capable of making sense of these sounds," said Hadany.
"We think that this is just the beginning. So, many animals may be responding to different plants."
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
