--- title: Study: Plants Can Hear Their Attackers’ Approach description: Some plants can hear caterpillars eating leaves and respond by emitting caterpillar-repelling chemicals, according to a new study. canonical: https://time.com/2953362/plants-hear/ author: Noah Rayman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-03T11:53:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:57:39.006Z article:section: Science og:title: Study: Plants Can Hear Their Attackers’ Approach og:description: Some plants can hear caterpillars eating leaves and respond by emitting caterpillar-repelling chemicals, according to a new study. og:url: https://time.com/2953362/plants-hear/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae571f4851c7868f/69869a69adae4449d554400b/457987437.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: caterpillar eating a leaf og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study: Plants Can Hear Their Attackers’ Approach twitter:description: Some plants can hear caterpillars eating leaves and respond by emitting caterpillar-repelling chemicals, according to a new study. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae571f4851c7868f/69869a69adae4449d554400b/457987437.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Study: Plants Can 'Hear' Their Attackers’ Approach  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Jul 3, 2014 11:53 AM UTC  Close up of a monarch caterpillar, Danaus plexippus, feeding on a milkweed leaf. Close up of a monarch caterpillar, Danaus plexippus, feeding on a milkweed leaf.Darlyne A. Murawski—Getty Images/National Geographic Creative  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Jul 3, 2014 11:53 AM UTC Some plants can hear caterpillars eating leaves and respond by emitting caterpillar-repelling chemicals, according to a new study [published in the journal _Oecologia_](http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-014-2995-6). Scientists have known that certain plants respond to sound vibrations—corn roots, for example, lean toward vibrations of a specific frequency—but until now it hasn’t been clear why they’re able to do so. In this experiment, researchers from University of Missouri exposed one set of plants to a recording of caterpillars eating plants and found they emitted more of the anti-caterpillar chemical and did it more quickly than the plants that weren’t exposed to the sound. The researchers also found that background noise like wind or insects had no impact on the plants, indicating that the plants could distinguish the sound of their attackers. Now the researchers are looking for the “ears” of the plants that allow them to hear, though [they suspect](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/science/noisy-predators-put-plants-on-alert-study-finds.html?%5Fr=0) they take the form of proteins known as “mechanoreceptors” found in plants and animals that respond to pressure. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2953362/plants-hear/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2953362/plants-hear/"},"headline":"Study: Plants Can 'Hear' Their Attackers’ Approach","datePublished":"2014-07-03T11:53:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:57:39.006Z","description":"Some plants can hear and react to enemy caterpillars","url":"https://time.com/2953362/plants-hear/","keywords":["Research","plants","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae571f4851c7868f/69869a69adae4449d554400b/457987437.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae571f4851c7868f/69869a69adae4449d554400b/457987437.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"caterpillar eating a leaf","caption":"caterpillar eating a leaf","creditText":"Darlyne A. 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