False: “The mystery of ghosts solved: where they come from and how caterpillars are involved”

On May 23, 2024, the socio-political newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda published an article on its Internet portal stating that “the mystery of ghosts has been solved” and also explains “where they come from and what the caterpillars have to do with it.” Immediately, we note that the title of the publication refers to clickbait. As you know, people are attracted to mysticism, solving mysteries. At the same time, the article in question in our story is presented in the “Science” section.

Is it legitimate? Is it worth believing the facts presented in it? And the author himself? Is the statement he is making true? Our team became interested in this story, and as we later found out, after conducting an extensive analysis, the information presented in the article turned out to be false.

The article about caterpillars and ghosts is not the first publication by columnist Yevgeny Arsyukhin in Komsomolskaya Pravda. First of all, it is worth paying attention to the style of the author’s articles: it does not correspond to scientific topics; it can be reasonably described as colloquial. The proof here is, for example, the presence of common phrases and references to unsupported evidence: “The psychic topic was of great interest even to serious scientists (who exactly?), in some places (where?) they conducted experiments,” “The last such experiments, as far as I know, were done by us (who?) ten or fifteen years ago.” I talked to some of the researchers who participated in this (with whom exactly?).”

Let’s turn now to the immediate source. This is a scientific publication by scientists from the School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Bristol (UK): Sam England and Daniel Robert. “Prey can detect predators using electroreception in the air.”

The article was published in issue 121 (No. 23) dated May 20, 2024, in one of the leading American journals, which hosts original scientific research in various fields of science, mainly in the field of biology and medicine, as well as physics and social sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

British scientists, indeed, conducted a study and showed that the hairs of caterpillars move in response to electric fields and are most sensitive to frequencies that correspond to the wing flapping frequencies of other insects, indicating that their hairs can be tuned in such a way as to pick up the electrical signals of predators.

The experiments involved caterpillars of three species of butterflies: the bloody bear, spotted brushtail, and peacock’s eye. The common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) was chosen as a predatory insect that poses a danger to these caterpillars. The researchers placed a static electricity detector at the entrance to the hornet’s nest and confirmed that flying wasps actually generate static electricity. They then calculated the amount of charge that flying wasps generate and used the resulting value in behavioral experiments with caterpillars.

In all three species, the duration of the protective reaction increased when the field was turned on, which confirmed their ability to detect the electric fields of predatory insects and perceive them as a threat.

“We show that predatory wasps are charged; therefore, they emit electric fields, and that caterpillars respond to such fields with protective behavior. Moreover, the mechanosensory bristles of caterpillars are deflected by these electrostatic forces and tuned to the frequency of the wing flaps of their insect predators. This ability reveals the measurement of sensory interactions between prey and predators and is probably widespread among terrestrial animals”, — Daniel Robert commented on his scientific results.

Thus, initially there were no riddles and ghosts in the original source; we are talking exclusively about scientific research, which is entirely based on the results of the experiment.

A similar article was published on the website “Lenta.ru” But, unlike the article in Komsomolskaya Pravda, here the author adheres to the original source, and we are not talking about any ghosts either.

We decided to check this fact, and in order to find out the exact and correct answer, we decided to contact an expert in this field. So, Vladimir Alexandrovich Zryanin, associate professor of the Department of Botany and Zoology at Lobachevsky University, Candidate of Biological Sciences, told us about the purpose of hairs in caterpillars:

“Hairs in caterpillars perform a sensitive (mechanoreception) or protective (hollow with poison) function. Static charge can accumulate on the hairs, and insects can feel it.”

The scientist’s words confirmed the conclusions reached by scientists at the University of Bristol.

In order to make a final conclusion about the absence of a connection between the theses of a scientific publication and the mysticism discussed in the Komsomolskaya Pravda article, we also decided to seek advice from Pavel Sinitsyn, an expert in the field of physics, a graduate student of the Institute of Biology and Biomedicine of the N.I. Lobachevsky National Research University, and received the following comment:

“Theoretically, ghosts, as they are usually represented in folklore and pop culture, are supernatural entities that do not obey the laws of physics. Therefore, speaking within the framework of a scientific approach, ghosts cannot have an electrostatic field, since they do not have a physical body or charge necessary to create such a field.”

Thus, it can be argued that the idea that “for some reason, supporters of the existence of ghosts are sure that they carry charges, and they can be detected in this way” is incorrect. But the statement “devices do not react to “ghosts” (who knows what a ghost is and how to react to it), but to electrostatic fields” can be considered true. That is, ghosts and the electrostatic field have nothing in common. In this case, one can notice contradictions already in the publication of Komsomolskaya Pravda itself, and not in the original source.

CONCLUSION

As a result of the analysis of the article, several conclusions can be drawn that confirm the need to apply the principle of factual verification. First of all, the article touches on the relationship between the reaction of caterpillars to predators and the operation of devices that detect the presence of an electrostatic field. The author makes an interesting comparison, pointing out that caterpillar hairs respond to a threat, just as some sensors detect changes in the environment. However, it is important to note that such an analogy, although attractive, is largely metaphorical.

In reality, caterpillars and their hair have evolutionary adaptations that serve to protect them from predators. At the same time, the devices mentioned by the author are designed to register physical phenomena that are not related to paranormal events and artifacts, such as ghosts. Regarding this situation, it can be argued with good reason that caterpillars do not reveal the secret of ghosts; on the contrary, the analysis conducted by our team fits into the context of refuting speculative theories based on associations and myths. It is worth noting that some of the statements of the article still have a scientific basis, since it affects existing research in the field of biology and physics. However, the attempt to draw parallels between these studies and the concepts associated with “ghosts” is nothing more than an artistic device devoid of scientific depth and accuracy. Thus, it is important to clarify that the most significant part of the article is only an attempt to link two completely different fields of knowledge, in this case, also “pseudoscience,” for which the author uses insufficiently substantiated analogies.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the article certainly causes interesting reflections among readers, but its main statement is controversial and requires further clarification. Therefore, taking into account all the facts and context, it can be argued that the authors’ general statement about ghosts and caterpillars is false.

Authors: Arina Gorshenkova, Anna Alekseeva, Valeria Galkova, Nadezhda Gromova, Alexey Khlabutin, Alyona Manina

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