Moths avoid noisy plants

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Jürgen

CNN reported on a fascinating study showing that plants make noise and that moths avoid the noisier ones. I knew that plants made noise — trees swaying in the wind are the largest component of noise in nature, which is why the National Park Service noise maps show that desert areas are quieter than forested ones  — but I didn’t know that when plants don’t get enough water, they make sounds. I also didn’t know that insects could hear these sounds.

The CNN article notes that tomato and tobacco plants make noise when they are dehydrated. Moths can hear these high-frequency sounds, which are beyond the range of human hearing. They preferentially lay their eggs on quiet plants, which are healthy, rather than on plants making distress noises. That way the larvae will have adequate food to eat when they hatch.

I often say that a quieter world will be a better and healthier world for all. I didn’t know until today that my comment applied to egg-laying moths, too.