GROUNDBREAKING research from Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Israel has found that insects can “listen” to plants. This study, published in the journal eLife, demonstrates that insects, specifically female moths, can hear high-frequency sounds emitted by plants and use this information to make decisions. The study was conducted in the laboratories of Prof. Yossi Yovel from the School of Zoology and Prof. Lilach Hadany from the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security at TAU’s Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. It was led by students Dr. Rya Seltzer and Guy Zer Eshel, in collaboration with scientists from the Plant Protection Institute at the Volcani Institute.
This research builds upon earlier findings by the same team which revealed that plants emit ultrasonic “clicks” that resemble popcorn popping. Healthy, well-watered plants emit these clicks infrequently (about one per hour), while stressed plants, such as those experiencing drought, emit dozens of clicks per hour.
The latest study aimed to answer the question: who is listening to these plant sounds? They focused on female moths (Spodoptera littoralis) because their larvae feed on plants, making it crucial for the mothers to select healthy plants for egg-laying.
In the initial experiment, aimed at isolating the auditory component from other plant features like color and scent, researchers presented female moths with two boxes. One box contained a speaker playing recordings of tomato plants in a state of dehydration, while the other remained silent.
The moths demonstrated a distinct preference for the “noisy” box, which they evidently interpreted as a living plant, even one experiencing stress. This initial finding suggested that the moths do indeed perceive and respond to recordings of plant-emitted sounds. Further evidence emerged when the researchers neutralized the moths’ hearing organs: this preference disappeared, and the moths chose both boxes equally — a conclusive indication that their preference was solely based on acoustic cues, rather than other stimuli.
While the sounds emitted by stressed plants are likely a cue rather than a deliberate signal evolved to communicate with insects, this discovery opens up a vast, unexplored field of acoustic interactions in nature. It suggests that many animals, not just insects, might be responding to various plant sounds, and could have significant implications for agriculture and pest control, potentially leading to new ways of protecting crops.
In the second experiment, female moths were presented with two healthy tomato plants — one emitting sounds of a drying plant and a silent counterpart. They again exhibited a clear preference, but this time for the undisturbed, silent plant. The moths presumably perceived this plant as a more suitable location for oviposition, given the absence of distress signals.
“In this study, we revealed the first evidence for acoustic interaction between a plant and an insect. We are convinced, however, that this is just the beginning. Acoustic interaction between plants and animals undoubtedly takes many more forms and fulfills a wide range of ecological roles. This remains a vast, largely unexplored field — an entire world awaiting discovery,” the researchers said in their publication. RGBT
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