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…
This little guy was released after being successfully treated for White-Nose Syndrome. It’s a great day for conservation!
10 years ago, a fungus was introduced in the United States that quickly decimated populations of bats in American and Canada.
The culprit? Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), which causes White-Nose Syndrome in bats.
But now, for the first time, scientists have successfully treated bats infected with White-Nose Syndrome.
On May 19, 2015, scientists and conservationists gathered outside the historic Mark Twain Cave Complex in Hannibal, Missouri, to release back into the wild some of the first bats successfully treated for deadly White-Nose Syndrome.
The 75 bats released in May were part of the first field trials of a novel way to protect bats from this syndrome.
PiraticOctopus 