If you play right-wing radio-host Rush Limbaugh to a bunch of bark beetles, could the sound kill them? Or could rock music make make insects so annoyed that they'll stop whatever they're doing? In one of the goofier experiments we've heard of lately, scientists decided to find out. The researchers had a serious goal: to find a way to combat invasive beetles and to stop their destructive, tree-destroying, bark-eating behavior. The answer: loud, nasty, and offensive noises. Changing ecosystems and climate change have allowed destructive bark beetles to spread out through new territories, where they're wreaking havoc on the ponderosa, pinyon, and lodgepole pines. So scientists took infested trees back to the lab and played the "nastiest, most offensive sounds" they could think of to the beetles in the bark. Enter, Limbaugh, Queen, and Guns n' Roses. The beetles were not amused. Discovery News reports:
The sounds disrupted tunneling, mating ...
