For the first time, a team of researchers in Israel has shown that insects can hear and interpret the acoustic plants.
Insects can listen to photo plants: Truth
This discovery is based on the previous work of the research group, which has registered the sounds that tomato and tobacco plants produce when dehydrated, said the main author of the study, Rya Seltzer, entomologist and doctoralist within the Zoology Department of Tel Aviv in Israel, writes CNN.
“The predominant hypothesis is that these sounds are produced as a result of the changes in the water balance of the plant in the Xilem vessels”, The specialized cells of the plant that carry water and nutrients up, from roots to stem and leaves, Seltzer told CNN.
During periods of stress caused by the lack of water, the air bubbles are formed, expanded and collapsed in the tissues of the xylem. This sequence of events produces vibrations, generating sounds similar to clicks every few seconds, which the researchers have measured in the range of acoustic frequencies from 20 to 100 kilohertria. They estimated that these frequencies can be heard by insects at distances up to 16 feet (about 5 meters). (Sound waves with frequencies greater than 20 kilohertzi are usually beyond the hearing of man).
Scientists wanted to find out if these ultrasonic sounds were received by insects, so they noticed the Egyptian cotton moth (Spodoptera Littoralis), which lays their eggs on the leaves of the plants. The study team found that these insects tended to avoid noisy and stressed tomato plants. In contrast, insects preferred tomato plants that were quieter and, therefore, in a better condition, with leaves that would provide a more juicy meal for newly hatched larvae, according to a recent study published in Elife magazine.
“Research reveals a new surprising way in which animals can feel and respond to clues in the environment – in this case, insects that capture sounds from stressed plants ”said Dr. Yali V. Zhang, a deputy professor of physiology at the Perelman School of Medicine of Pennsylvania University. Zhang, who studies chemical communication between insects and plants at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, was not involved in the study.
However, just because the insects hear and react to the sounds from dehydrated plants do not mean that plants and moles wear a conversation, Seltzer said.
“It is important to clarify that we have noticed an interaction – not a communication”she added. “It is essential to understand that plants probably produce these passive sounds and do not actively try to communicate with insects.”
Listening and interpreting
When the researchers presented the female insects the opportunity to choose between a dry and fresh tomato plant, the insects turned to the fresh plant to lay their eggs. But the team wanted to understand if the sounds from the dehydrated plant were a factor in choosing insects. The researchers built an arena made up of two boxes. In a box, they broadcast records of the plants of the plants, while in the other box was quiet.
During the experiment, insects have gravitated around the noisy box, and scientists assume that this is because the sounds suggested that they would find a living plant there. This preference has disappeared when scientists have deafen the insects, which leads to the conclusion that the moths listened to the plants before making their choice, wrote the authors of the study.
Within another experiment, the researchers again gave female insects a selection of two tomato plants. This time, both plants were hydrated, but one was near a speaker that emitted ultrasonic stress sounds. The result was the following: several insects chose the plant silent.
A third experiment has tested whether the laying females were influenced by other acoustic indications, such as those of the masculine moths, which produce ultrasonic courtyards. According to the study, when the cries of male insects were broadcast from one side of the arena, the females “They did not show any significant preference ” As for the place where they lay their eggs.
Together, these experiments told the researchers that the moths listened and recognized the sounds issued by plants – and that they used this acoustic information to make decisions about those plants for their breeding, Seltzer said.
“Beautiful and surprising”
Insects were able to detect ultrasonic sounds at least from the era of Eocene (now 55.8 million – 33.9 million years). However, the researchers were surprised to find that they recognized the ultrasonic signs of plant stress, Seltzer said. Even though the female insects in the experiments had never laid eggs – and therefore they had no previous experience in deciphering the acoustic signals of the plants – not only recognized the sounds of the plants, but preferred the plants for their first egg deposition.
“It is a very strong and surprising discovery!” Zhang said. “ȘFor a long time, plants emanate smells when they have problems, such as when they are eaten by insects or when they are thirsty. These smells help to attract assistant insects or scarest of pests“he said.
