typhlonectes:

Avoiding Predation by Bats:  A Tale of Two Moths

by William E. Conner

In their

recent paper

in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.,
Kawahara and Barber describe sonar-jamming signals in a charismatic
group of moths called hawkmoths (in the order Lepidoptera, family
Sphingidae). Using behavioral methods, they showed that hawkmoths
produce sound by rubbing specialized scales on their genitalia across a
filelike structure on their abdomens, in a process called stridulation. (See videos

here.)

But there are apparently other ways to thwart bat attacks as well. A group led by the same research team

studied

a second charismatic group of moths, the Saturnidae, or silkmoths
(including the well-known luna moth, as shown above). As far as we know
these large moths do not hear or produce sound, but many sport long,
flowing hindwing tails that flutter in the breeze as they fly. The
fluttering tails are irresistible to echolocating bats, diverting their
attack away from the moth’s vulnerable body and toward the expendable
tails…

(read more: American Scientist)

photographs: T – Luna Moth by James St. John; B – Hawk Moth (Ambulyx pryeri) by Alexey