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Tiger Moths Use Sonic Defense to Trick Bats

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Bat approaching wax moth

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A big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) approaches a wax moth (Galleria mellonella), which serves as the control species for the studies of the tiger moths. The moth is only "semi-tethered," allowing it the mobility to fly evasively.

The audio recording features the high-pitched cries of a big brown bat using echolocation to chase a moth in William Conner's laboratory. The slowly repeating cries are from the bat's "search phase," faster cries are from the "approach phase," and the final, very rapid pattern is called the "terminal buzz" - the point at which the bat captures its prey. The ultrasound clicks are actually too high-pitched for humans to hear, so the researchers slowed the recording to 1/25 of its original speed, lowering the pitch and lengthening the duration of the squeaks. The original hunt took only 5 seconds to record.

Credit: William Conner and Nickolay Hristov, Wake Forest University

 

Bat approaching wax moth

The big brown bat is poised to scoop the wax moth into its tail membrane. The bat will then dip its head in to eat its prey.

Credit: William Conner and Nickolay Hristov, Wake Forest University

 

Infrared image of bath and prey.

The researchers use an infrared camera to capture high-speed (250 frames per second), detailed images of the predator-prey interaction in three dimensions.

Credit: William Conner and Nickolay Hristov, Wake Forest University