Moths Vibrate Their Genitals to Avoid Bats
In the air wars between bats and moths, the bugs are fighting back—by shaking their privates.
In the air wars between bats and moths, the bugs are fighting back—by shaking their privates.
It’s no award-winning dance move, but a new study shows that hawkmoths in Borneo (map) jiggle their junk to produce ultrasound. That jams Malaysian bats’ built-in sonar, rendering the hawkmoths temporarily “invisible.”
Found worldwide, hawkmoths get their name from their large sizes—some species have wingspans greater than 4 inches (10 centimeters)—and superb flying abilities. The insects fly up to 12 miles (19 kilometers) per hour and can quickly dart from side to side to avoid predators, especially bats.
Over the past 65 million years, bats and moths have squared off in an evolutionary arms race. For the bats’ part, they have built-in sonar that allows
