Among insects, the pulse echolocation capacity has been so far demonstrated only in the group of noctuid moths (Noctuidae) [7]. The probing signals of the noctuid moths are short (25-190 μs) ultrasonic clicks, the main spectral maximums of the signals being located above 30 kHz [4]. Auditory (tympanal) organs of noctuid moths are paired organs located in the thoracic segment. The tympanal organ...

Adaptations to divert the attacks of visually guided predators have evolved repeatedly in animals. Using high-speed infrared videography, we show that luna moths (Actias luna) generate an acoustic diversion with spinning hindwing tails to deflect echolocating bat attacks away from their body and toward these nonessential appendages. We pit luna moths against big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) an...

The aim of this study, which took place in Kopački rit Nature Park in Eastern Croatia from May 2008 to May 2009, was to create a list of species and to highlight both rare and typical moths. A UV-light was employed in a conventional Wilkinson trap to sample moths. Four traps were operated during the night twice a month on average. During the research, over 3000 moths were collected, and 201 spe...

Recently, a small series of an unidentified notodontid moth from Bhutan was presented to me by Pavel Morozov (Moscow). The moth is described below, and represents a hitherto unknown species of the holarctic genus Notodonta Ochsenheimer, 1810 and the first record for the genus in the Himalayas.

Data have been lacking on the proportion of Helicovera zea larvae that develop on noncotton host plants that can serve as a refuge from selection pressure for adaptation to transgenic cotton varieties that produce a toxin from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. We found that individual H. zea moths that develop as larvae on cotton and other plants with C3 physiology have a different ratio of...

The influence of trap placement on catches of codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., was examined in a series of studies conducted in orchards treated with Isomate-C Plus sex pheromone dispensers. Mark-recapture tests with sterilized moths released along the interface of pairs of treated and untreated apple and pear plots found that significantly more male but not female moths were recaptured on int...

sorts of habitats from the coast to upland moor, from woodland to private gardens, with about 85 traps running each year. But the cash-strapped institution has had little funds to analyse the mountain of data generated. So in 2003, the British charity Butterfly Conservation together with Rothamstead Research, with funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, launched a collaborative project to ...

Goal: Assess host-race formation in certain moths by examining their genetic and ecological differentiation. Organisms: Stalk-feeding moths, Prodoxus quinquepunctellus, collected from sympatric populations of Yucca elata and Y. rostrata in west Texas, USA. Results: Moths on the two yuccas differed significantly in mtDNA haplotype frequencies, emergence time, wing dot number, body size, and ovip...

Next month will see the first major event in a new four-year project which promises to be the world's largest effort to monitor and promote awareness of moth populations. Moths Count (www.mothscount. org), launched this spring by wildlife television presenter David Attenborough is Britain's attempt to address the apparent decline in many of its numerous moth species. The launch attracted consid...

The vast majority of lepidopterans, about 90%, are moths. Some moths, particularly their caterpillars, are major agricultural and forestry pests in many parts of the world. However, some other members of moths, such as the silkworm Bombyx mori, are famous for their economic value. Fire et al. in 1998 initially found that exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can silence the homolog endogenous m...