Many trees in North America, including firs, spruces and other greens are in danger of becoming nothing but dead leaves and grasslands because of beetle invasions. We are in the midst of one of the worst insect invasions in decades. But recently, Richard Hofsetter, a beetle expert at Northern Arizona University, found out that he could deter beetles from ravaging the trees by driving them crazy through sounds. The experiment started off with GNR albums and recordings of Rush Limbaugh, but found better success when the beetles were exposed to high frequency aggression calls made by the male beetles. The beetles got so annoyed, they would literally dig themselves out of plexiglass in order to escape the sounds. Hofsetter intends to outfit trees this Spring with speakers emitting sounds in hopes that it will deter beetle invasions and save millions of acres of forest.
Posted by Shilpa Nadhan
