Much as some harmless snakes have evolved coloring that mimics that of their poisonous relatives, some bats make buzzing noises that resemble a hornet’s, a new study finds. The authors of the paper, published today (May 9) in Current Biology, suggest that greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis) do this to evade predators.
The researchers tell The Independent that this is the first instance of Batesian mimicry—where a harmless species imitates another, more dangerous one to protect itself from predation—discovered in mammals.
After being captured by an owl, the bats’ main predator, the researchers explain that buzzing might distract the predator, giving the bats a chance to escape. Study coauthor Danilo Russo, a biologist at the University of Naples Federico II in Portici, Italy, tells The Independent, “Buzzing might deceive the predator for a fraction of a second—enough to fly away.”
The researchers first observed the buzzing almost two decades ago ...
