Bats hunt mating flies
JUL 24, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026194
Science : Bats are well known for their ability to use echolocation to target bugs in midflight. Now researchers have also seen them locate stationary flies by the sounds the flies emit while mating. In a study published in Current Biology, the researchers showed that in a cowshed that was home to both flies and Natterer’s bats, the bats attacked 26% of mating flies and succeeded in catching both flies 60% of the time. When the researchers played sound recordings of flies mating, flies walking, and white noise, the bats attacked the loudspeakers only in response to the mating sounds.
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
