Bat-like sound signals may repel a major corn pest
Plant Signaling
If you grow sweet corn in a backyard plot, a speaker that mimics bat calls could one day keep borer moths away without a single spray of pesticide.
European corn borer moths, like many night-flying insects, have evolved to sense the ultrasonic clicks bats use to hunt them, and they instinctively flee or freeze when they hear those sounds. Researchers played recorded and synthetic ultrasound signals to these moths in the lab and out in real cornfields to see if it changed how they flew, mated, or laid eggs. The idea is that if sound alone can disrupt their behavior, farmers might one day use speakers instead of chemicals to keep this destructive pest off their corn.
Key Findings
European corn borer moths altered flight and evasive behavior when exposed to ultrasound frequencies resembling bat echolocation calls
Responses observed in controlled laboratory trials were compared against reactions recorded in open field conditions
Findings support ultrasound exposure as a potential non-chemical tool for disrupting corn borer activity in agricultural settings
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists tested whether playing ultrasound signals that mimic bat calls can scare off European corn borer moths, a major corn pest, offering a possible pesticide-free way to protect crops.
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