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Science|When They Hear Plants Crying, Moths Make a Decision
  
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moths-hearing-plant-sounds.html

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When They Hear Plants Crying, Moths Make a Decision

A new study suggests that the insects rely on the sounds made by
distressed vegetation to guide important reproductive choices.

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A close up view of an Egyptian cotton leafworm moth, which has
intricately patterned brown wings as it rests on some kind of whitish
surface.
Scientists wondered if the Egyptian cotton leafworm, which can hear
the sounds produced by some plants, would use those sounds to decide
where to lay eggs.Credit...Valter Jacinto, via Getty Images

By Gennaro Tomma

Dec. 6, 2024

You may not want to sit next to a crying baby on an airplane.
Apparently, moths feel the same way about plants.

When some plants are dehydrated or under some other form of stress,
they cry a mournful melody made of ultrasonic clicks. Some moths are
able to hear those clicks, and researchers now say they have
discovered that the insects may interpret the sounds as a cue to
choose on which plant to lay their eggs. The finding was described in
a paper that was published online last month and has been submitted
to the journal eLife.

"This is new," said Rya Seltzer, an entomologist at Tel Aviv
University and an author of the study. "Plants emit sounds, and
insects are really listening to that. They're tuned to that specific
sound, and they know the meaning, and they consider it."

In an earlier study, researchers showed that some plants emit
ultrasonic clicks when under stress. Those sounds are imperceptible
to people but fall within the hearing range of other animals,
including insects.

This discovery lit a spark for Dr. Seltzer and her team: What if some
insects actually interpret those sounds and use them to make
decisions?

The researchers worked in a laboratory with a moth species called the
Egyptian cotton leafworm. This insect is able to hear the sounds
produced by some plants. The researchers wanted to know whether
female leafworms would use the clicks to decide where to lay eggs,
one of the most important choices in their lives.

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