Picture a tomato plant under drought, quietly emitting ultrasonic pulses like a hidden SOS – beyond our hearing but clear as day to many insects. Israeli researchers at Tel Aviv University have found that female moths tune in to these secret signals when choosing where to lay their eggs.
The team’s earlier work showed that stressed plants, such as those experiencing dehydration, emit ultrasonic sounds undetectable by the human ear but picked up by various animals.
In their latest study, scientists tested whether insects could hear these plant distress calls—and discovered that moths indeed respond by selecting egg-laying sites based on the sound profile of tomato plants.
These results provide evidence that plants and animals can interact through sound, challenging the traditional view of plants as silent partners in nature’s web.
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Researchers find moths 'listen to' ultrasonic sound from tomato plants
cgtn.com
