New research from Tel Aviv University shows that moths respond to distress sounds from tomato plants, revealing a new form of plant-insect communication.
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| Tel Aviv University researchers reveal that plants under stress emit sounds that moths can hear and respond to, offering insight into interspecies communication. Image: AAU/CH |
Tel Aviv, Israel – July 17, 2025:
A groundbreaking study from Tel Aviv University has revealed that plants and insects may communicate through ultrasonic sounds, suggesting a previously unknown dimension of ecological interaction.
Published in the journal eLife, the study shows that female moths can detect high-frequency distress signals emitted by dehydrated tomato plants, using them as cues to avoid laying eggs on stressed vegetation. Moths typically lay their eggs on tomato plants so their larvae will have an immediate food source upon hatching.
"We revealed the first evidence for acoustic interaction between a plant and an insect," said lead researchers Rya Seltzer and Guy Zer Eshel, who conducted the study in the labs of professors Yossi Yovel and Lilach Hadany at the university’s Wise Faculty of Life Sciences.
The team had previously found that plants emit ultrasonic sounds when under stress—sounds humans can't hear but which some insects and mammals, like bats, can detect.
To test insect behavior, researchers presented female moths with two identical healthy tomato plants: one accompanied by ultrasonic recordings from a drying plant, and the other silent. The moths consistently preferred the silent plant, indicating they actively use plant-generated sound cues to identify favorable egg-laying sites.
"Here, we've seen that there are animals that are capable of making sense of these sounds," said Professor Hadany. “We think this is just the beginning. Many animals may be responding to different plants.”
The findings open exciting new avenues for agriculture and pest management, potentially allowing farmers to monitor crop health and even influence insect behavior using sound-based methods, rather than chemicals.
This research sheds new light on how non-verbal, cross-species communication can play a critical role in ecosystems — and may one day change the way we grow and protect food.