McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity Study Discovers New Moths That Produce Anti-Bat Ultrasoundoths

A recent study published in the journal PNAS demonstrates that ultrasound-producing moths are much more prevalent than previously believed, adding eight new subfamilies, three new sound-producing organs, and possibly thousands of species to the list.

Senior author Akito Kawahara, a curator at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said that such sound production is not just happening to tiger and hawk moths. Many moths produce ultrasonic noises, but they only know very little about them.

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A close up of a bat

Moth Ultrasound Study Overview

For tens of millions of years, moths have managed to avoid attack by echolocating bats. Hence, the study demonstrates that the ultrasonic moth protective sounds are actually present across the world and the tree of life. In the ten-year analysis of the researchers, they found that more than ten origins of acoustic aposematism and at least six independent origins of sonar-jamming behavior are responsible for around 20 percent of the moths producing anti-bat sounds.

Moth acoustic emissions may cause the most varied mimicry rings (groups of species that congregate on similar warning signals) on Earth due to the enormous number of lepidopterans that produce ultrasonic warning sounds. Understanding ultrasonic symphonies is crucial to understanding insect biodiversity.

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Moth Ultrasound Study Findings

The team studied 252 genera, including the majority of large-bodied moth families. Of these, 52 genera produced anti-bat ultrasonography, with eight subfamily origins documented. Based on acoustic analyses of ultrasonic emissions and palatability tests with bats, it appears that most moths produce sound for acoustic warning and mimicry. Some moths, however, employ high-duty-cycle ultrasound that can interfere with bat sonar. The researchers discovered early evidence of distinct sonar jamming origins in at least six subfamilies. However, jamming and warning are not mutually exclusive tactics, according to palatability statistics.

Moths in Ecuador were carefully examined using machine-learning methods to investigate the potential organization of anti-bat warning sounds into acoustic mimicry rings. The research discovered five unique auditory clusters.

The program proved what other researchers had only speculated. Moth species don't behave like individual composers, each with their own distinctive calling card and style. In contrast, just a few moths create their unique scores, which other moths appear to imitate in intricate acoustic mimicry rings.

While additional research is required to determine the precise nature of these noises, lead author Jesse Barber, a biology professor at Boise State University, believes the trailblazer moths at the center of these rings are probably toxic while the copycats at the edges are simply false advertisers.

"Moths and butterflies are collectively one of the most diverse groups on the planet, containing one of every 10 named animals. If these results pan out, it will likely be the largest set of mimicry complexes on Earth, "he said.

These ultrasonic warning systems have independently evolved in moths on numerous occasions because they appear to be so beneficial for avoiding bats. Moths converted various parts of their bodies into precisely tuned biological instruments in each instance.