Moths are not silent, but whisper ultrasonic courtship songs

The Journal of Experimental Biology
Ryo NakanoYukio Ishikawa

Abstract

Ultrasonic hearing is widespread among moths, but very few moth species have been reported to produce ultrasounds for sexual communication. In those that do, the signals are intense and thus well matched for long distance communication. By contrast, males of the Asian corn borer moth (Crambidae) were recently shown to whisper extremely low-intensity ultrasonic courtship songs close to females. Since low sound levels will prevent eavesdropping by predators, parasites and conspecific rivals, we predicted low intensity ultrasound communication to be widespread among moths. Here we tested 13 species of moths including members of the Noctuidae, Arctiidae, Geometridae and Crambidae. Males of nine species, 70%, produced broadband ultrasound close to females. Peak frequencies ranged from 38 to above 100 kHz. All sounds were of low intensity, 43-76 dB SPL at 1 cm [64+/-10 dB peSPL (mean +/- s.d.), N=9 species]. These quiet and/or hyper-frequency ultrasounds are audible to nearby mates, but inaudible to unintended receivers. Although largely unknown because it is so inconspicuous, acoustic communication using low intensity ultrasound appears to be widespread among hearing moths. Thus, acoustic communication may be the norm rather than th...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 12, 2013·Behavioral Ecology : Official Journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology·Monica Gagliano
Feb 10, 2012·Biology Letters·Marissa A RamsierNathaniel J Dominy
Apr 16, 2014·Arthropod Structure & Development·Mikhail K ZhemchuzhnikovBente G Berg
Jan 28, 2012·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Frants H JensenPeter T Madsen
Jul 11, 2014·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Ryo NakanoSatoshi Toda
Jul 2, 2014·Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology·Aaron J Corcoran, Nickolay I Hristov
Jun 12, 2012·The Journal of Comparative Neurology·Xin-Cheng ZhaoBente G Berg
Jan 10, 2012·Current Opinion in Neurobiology·David D Yager
Sep 28, 2014·Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology·Ryo NakanoAnnemarie Surlykke
Jun 22, 2013·Scientific Reports·Ryo NakanoYukio Ishikawa
Apr 20, 2017·Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology·Ariadna Cobo-CuanEmanuel C Mora
Jun 3, 2016·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Hannah M Ter Hofstede, John M Ratcliffe
Jul 7, 2017·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America·Marissa A RamsierNathaniel J Dominy
Feb 7, 2019·Scientific Reports·Liam J O'ReillyMarc W Holderied

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