- Faculty Member: Jayne Yack
- Department: Biology
- Original news source: io9
- Original publication date: August 16, 2013
Many insects have ears, but few researchers have investigated why. Until now. A new study shows that the ears of some insects, including moths and butterflies, may function as “bird detectors” that are able to perceive the wing flaps of avian predators.
Crickets use their ears to communicate, while moths use their ears to detect the ultrasonic calls of bats. But the purpose of other insects’ ears, including those of butterflies, has remained a mystery.
“Many of the butterfly taxa have really well developed ears at the base of their wings,” said Jayne Yack, a biologist at the Carleton University in Ontario, Canada. “But we really don’t know what the function of their hearing is.”
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