5. Video: Moth Blocks Bat Attack by Jamming Sonar

Source:

Leggett H. Wired [Internet]. Video: Moth Blocks Bat Attack by Jamming Sonar; 16 Jul 2009 [cited 2010 Jan 30]; [about 2 screen]. Available from: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/mothjam/#more-7406

Although the idea of sonar jamming has been around for a long time, significant finding have not been found until now. Bats “see” by using echolocation, however, there are certain moth species that can produce clicking sounds that interfere with a bat’s echolocation ability. A test was conducted in a flight room using a moth on a string and a bat trained to hunt prey in the room. The bat was not able to locate the moth as long as it was clicking. Scientist pierced the sound producing structure in the moth and the bat was quickly able to locate and devour the moth. Other possibilities besides sonar jamming have been ruled out because the particular moth used, B. trigona, is not poisonous, thus, the clicking could not result as a warning. Furthermore, the bats used in this experiment have not been conditioned to know that clicking moths means poisonous or bad taste. B. trigona makes 4500 clicks per second. This constant clicking is necessary because it increases the chance for a click to interfere with the bat’s echolocation mechanism. These results were established in a lab setting, thus, more experiments need to be conducted in a real setting to further assess the findings.