How Are Bats and Wasps the Same?

Until now, bats and wasps have not had much in common. However, scientists have discovered that one of the largest members of the insect order, the greater mouse-eared bat, produces an alarm call that sounds like the buzzing of bees. This discovery may be the first time that a mammal has learned to mimic an insect.

Danilo Russo is an ecologist at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy. He was conducting fieldwork more than 20 years ago when he noticed that the greater mouse-eared bat’s buzzing sounds sounded just like those of hornets. He suspected that the bats were mimicking hornets in order to avoid predation.

He captured greater mouse-eared bats in soft mesh traps called mist nets. He then recorded the bats’ buzzing sounds with microphones. He also studied how the sounds compared with those of four species of stinging insects.

The research findings were published in Current Biology on Monday. Yovel and his colleagues said it’s unclear whether the signal evolved through mimicry. However, they hope to find out if it is common in other species.

“We know that owls are familiar with the buzzing of stinging insects and that they will react differently to bat buzzes,” said Knornschild. “We don’t know if owls will react to bat buzzing by avoiding them, or if they will react by coming closer to the speakers.”

Although the research was done in Italy, it is possible that other vertebrates mimic the warning signals of wasps and hornets.