Open AccessMoths produce extremely quiet ultrasonic courtship songs by rubbing specialized scales
Author(s) -
Ryo Nakano,
Niels Skals,
Takuma Takanashi,
Annemarie Surlykke,
Takuji Koike,
Kiyohide Yoshida,
Hirotaka Maruyama,
Sadahiro Tatsuki,
Yukio Ishikawa
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.0804056105
Subject(s) - courtship , mating , biology , quiet , human echolocation , zoology , acoustics , physics , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
Insects have evolved a marked diversity of mechanisms to produce loud conspicuous sounds for efficient communication. However, the risk of eavesdropping by competitors and predators is high. Here, we describe a mechanism for producing extremely low-intensity ultrasonic songs (46 dB sound pressure level at 1 cm) adapted for private sexual communication in the Asian corn borer moth,Ostrinia furnacalis . During courtship, the male rubs specialized scales on the wing against those on the thorax to produce the songs, with the wing membrane underlying the scales possibly acting as a sound resonator. The male's song suppresses the escape behavior of the female, thereby increasing his mating success. Our discovery of extremely low-intensity ultrasonic communication may point to a whole undiscovered world of private communication, using “quiet” ultrasound.