NH Luna Moth Overload? They’ve Got an Amazing Defense Against Bats
The gigantic iridescent green moths are being seen all around The Granite State this summer and no one seems to know why. Their non-violent defense against bats is something I'd never heard of until now.
Apparently it's all about the long kite-like tails that trail out a couple inches behind the moth.
Bats are the number one predator of Luna moths and these tails act as the perfect misdirection to the sonar guided method that they use to hunt their prey.
The bats are picking up echoes from the long tails at a rate higher than that is the body and that causes near misses to occur around two thirds of the time. Pretty tricky!
Several people I've talked to about these moths are deathly afraid of them and this is one of the most ridiculous phobias I've ever heard of!
I think it'd be much more logical to fear a near sighted winged rodent with sharp teeth!