Chien C. Lee

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Arguably Madagascar’s most iconic insect: the Comet Moth (Argema mittrei). Despite its obvious beauty, the long twisted tails of its wings aren’t made for aesthetic purposes – recent studies have shown that they play an important role in defense against their main predator: echolocating bats. When closing in for a kill, the acoustic reflections from the tail confuse the bat so that it misses the moth’s body, often ending up with nothing but a bit of broken tail in its mouth. Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar.

Copyright
© Chien C. Lee
Image Size
7708x5139 / 33.2MB
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Keywords
Bombycoidea, Insecta, Lepidoptera, Madagascar, Saturniidae, animal, arthropod, defense, endemic, fauna, giant silk moth, insect, invertebrate, moth, nocturnal, saturniid moth
Contained in galleries
Insects, Madagascar
Arguably Madagascar’s most iconic insect: the Comet Moth (Argema mittrei). Despite its obvious beauty, the long twisted tails of its wings aren’t made for aesthetic purposes – recent studies have shown that they play an important role in defense against their main predator: echolocating bats. When closing in for a kill, the acoustic reflections from the tail confuse the bat so that it misses the moth’s body, often ending up with nothing but a bit of broken tail in its mouth. Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar.