Crickets evade bats via olfaction beyond acoustic cues
The evolutionary arms race between insectivorous bats and their insect prey is a classic paradigm of acoustic predation and evasion, with insects having evolved sophisticated auditory countermeasures. Both bats and insects also rely heavily on olfaction for key behaviors, such as social communication. Moreover, predator-derived odors are well established as risk cues in many other predator–prey…
In a study that expands the sensory framework of predator-prey interactions, researchers have discovered that insectivorous bats can use olfaction to evade their cricket prey. The investigation, focused on the bat species Scotophilus kuhlii and the cricket species Loxoblemmus equestris, revealed that the bat's body odor can trigger avoidance behaviors in crickets.
The specific odor compound that elicited this response was identified as limonene, which was found to stimulate electrophysiological responses in the crickets' antennae. Field experiments further confirmed that exposure to limonene reduced the crickets' calling activity, indicating the ecological significance of this olfactory cue.
This discovery not only broadens our understanding of the sensory strategies employed by insects to evade predators but also highlights the potential role of olfactory eavesdropping in a wide range of predator-prey systems.
Written by urgent.news from eLife's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
