Caught in the act: Bats use the sound of copulating flies as a cue for foraging
Monday, July 23, 2012 - 13:30
in Biology & Nature
Mating activities are a dangerous business because the attention to other important events in the surroundings is often reduced. Therefore the duration of copulation itself is usually very short. About 100 years ago researchers argued that copulating animals are at a higher risk of being discovered and, consequently, being eaten by a predator. Yet, surprisingly, there are only few observations that support this hypothesis. Now, researchers have found that when they play a recording of the copulation sounds of flies, bats try to attack the loudspeakers.