A recent study conducted by a group of Israeli researchers revealed a surprising interaction between moths and plants: Some species of female moths can pick up the sounds emitted by stressed plants and use them to decide where to lay eggs.
This behavior, documented for the first time, represents a new frontier in the study of plant bioacoustics and animal behavior. The research, entitled “Female moths incorporate acoustic emissions from plants into their oviposition decision making”was led by entomologist Rya Seltzer of Tel Aviv University and published last month.
The team focused on a specific species of moth, the Egyptian cotton bollworm (Spodoptera littoralis), which is able to perceive the ultrasonic sounds emitted by plants when they are under stress, such as dehydration.
The moths prefer to lay their eggs on the “silent” plant,
Plants, according to previous studies, emit ultrasonic “clicks” imperceptible to the human ear in difficult situations. To test whether the moths used these signals, the researchers devised an innovative experiment.
In an experimental arena, two healthy tomato plants were placed: one of the two was accompanied by the playback of recorded sounds of a stressed plant. The results clearly showed that moths they preferred to lay their eggs on the “silent” plantsuggesting that these insects not only detect sounds made by plants, but interpret them as stress signals.
This finding is significant for several reasons. First highlights a new level of communication between the plant and animal kingdoms, based on acoustic signals. Secondly, it opens new perspectives for the study of bioacoustics and for understanding how insects select their breeding habitats.
As noted by Jodi Sedlock, a sensory ecologist, the study represents compelling evidence of the acoustic sensitivity of mothsalthough exactly why these insects focus on such signals requires further investigation.
The next step, Seltzer said, will be to see if this phenomenon it also occurs in natural environments, outside laboratories. The research could also extend to more species of insects and plants, broadening our understanding of the complex web of ecological interactions that link different living organisms.
