Bats and Moths

A new study published in Current Biology finds that the Yellow Underwing moths, a prey species for bats, are capable of modifying the sensitivity of their ears in response to the ultrasonic calls bats produce while hunting:

"Previously it was thought that these ears were only partially sensitive to the sound frequencies commonly used by bats and that bats would make their hunting calls inaudible to moths.
"But now it appears that even though moth ears are among the simplest in the insect world – they have only two or four vibration sensitive cells attached to a small eardrum – moths are not as deaf as previously thought.
"As a bat gets closer to the moth, both the loudness and frequency (pitch) of the bat's calls increase. Surprisingly, the sensitivity of the moth's ear to the bat's calls also increases. This occurs because the moth's ear dynamically becomes more sensitive to the frequencies that many bats use when attacking moths." ...
"And in case there is another attack, the moth's ear remain tuned in for several minutes after the calls stop."