Plants have been known to respond to sound in general, but a team of scientists recently discovered that they react to caterpillar’s chewing noises in a very specific way.
Plants have been known to respond to sound in general, but two University of Missouri scientists recently discovered that they react to caterpillar’s chewing noises in a very specific way.
"When they were attacked by caterpillars, they responded with much higher levels of these mustard oils that are toxic to caterpillars." [Via University of Missouri]
To make sure the chemical reaction was incident specific, the scientists set up an experiment.
After establishing their constants and variables, they put a caterpillar on a type of small, flowering plant.
They took leaf movement measurements and made audio recordings as the caterpillar fed and then tested the plant’s leaves.
In the next stage, the plants were split into groups and each was introduced to a variety of noises and vibrations.
Some were played the recordings while others got sounds and tremors of other insects and rustling wind. One group was left in silence.
Only the ones that had listed to the caterpillar recording were quicker to react when the pesky creatures were reintroduced.
The scientists aren’t sure how plants pull it off, but do plan to conduct more experiments to get to the bottom of the mystery.
