Japanese lichen mothCREDIT: RYO NAKANOThe ultrasonic courtship displays of many moth species are believed to have evolved in response to bat echolocation—a capability the flying mammals evolved around 60 million years ago. Moths had evolved ears that could detect the ultrasonic pulses of a hunting bat. But this expanded range of hearing opened a new line of communication between males and receptive mates.
According to a new hypothesis by Ryo Nakano from the University of Tokyo, not only did bats influence the origin of the moths’ songs, but they also shaped how honest or deceptive they are.
This idea, published today (June 20) in Scientific Reports, is based on experiments of two moths species. In an earlier study, Nakano showed that the female Asian corn borer moth (Ostrinia furnacalis) stops moving when she hears the courtship song of a male, allowing him to easily mate with her.
Now, his team confirmed why: the female cannot distinguish between a male’s song and a bat’s call. When either sound was played from a speaker, the females behaved as if they heard a bat—they stayed still to avoid detection or, if ...
