In a recent PBS video, part of the series Bugs That Rule the World (Episode 2), Akito Kawahara discusses The Evolutionary Race Between Moths and Bats.
As daylight fades and most pollinators retreat, a different group of insects emerges quietly, efficiently, and largely unnoticed. Among them is a creature often misunderstood and underappreciated: the moth.
Though frequently dismissed as dull or invasive, moths represent one of the most resilient and adaptive lineages in the insect world. And for evolutionary biologist Akito Kawahara, their quiet complexity is precisely what makes them fascinating.
“When I was younger, I thought butterflies were really cool,” Akito says, recalling the bright, eye-catching insects that so often steal the spotlight. “They’re big, gorgeous, flashy.” But over time, his attention shifted. “Now, I study moths more, and I’ve come to find them quite cute… I don’t know if ‘adorable’ is the right word, but they’re really wonderful.”
This shift in perception is not just about personal preference; it reflects a broader misunderstanding of moths’ ecological role. Far from being mere background figures in the natural world, moths are critical to the health of ecosystems.
“Something a lot of people don’t know,” Akito notes, “is that moths are important pollinators.”
Unlike bees or butterflies, moths work the night shift. Many plant species have evolved to open their blooms after dark, releasing fragrance and nectar when most insects have vanished. For these flowers, moths are essential.
“The major pollinator for most of those flowers is moths,” he explains.
Despite their ecological significance, moths have had to overcome major evolutionary pressures to maintain their place in the world. For over 240 million years, they dominated the night skies until a new predator emerged: bats.
Bats introduced a powerful threat. With the evolution of echolocation, these nocturnal hunters gained the ability to “see” using sound. They emit high-pitched calls and detect prey through the echoes that bounce back.
“Bats use echolocation,” says behavioral ecologist Jesse Barber. “They scream out into the night and listen for returning echoes, which help them locate big things like trees and cliffs but also small things, like insects.”
This evolutionary development forced moths into a high-stakes game of survival. They responded with an astonishing array of adaptations. Some developed auditory organs to hear bat calls and evade attack. Others evolved sound-dampening scales, erratic flight patterns, or even ultrasonic clicks to confuse or repel their predators.
“We think that when bats came onto the planet,” Akito explains, “moths had to undergo so many different kinds of evolutionary changes just to survive.”
These adaptations weren’t optional; they were necessary for survival in an increasingly hostile nocturnal environment. Over time, moths became some of the most sophisticated prey species in the animal kingdom, evolving countermeasures that rival the complexity of their predators’ tools.
And yet, for all their ingenuity and ecological importance, moths remain largely invisible to the public eye, overshadowed by their daytime relatives and overlooked in most conversations about biodiversity.
However, as science continues to uncover the depth of their contribution, perspectives are slowly shifting. Researchers like Akito Kawahara are helping to reshape the narrative, presenting moths not as pests or background characters, but as dynamic, essential players in the story of evolution.
In the end, moths are not just survivors of the night. They are innovators, pollinators, and silent witnesses to millions of years of natural history, living proof that complexity often thrives in the shadows.
This Wednesday, the second episode of the PBS series Bugs That Rule the World will air at 10 PM EST / 7 PM PST. It features research on bats and moths, as well as some of Akito’s earlier work in Japan.
To watch the full episode, visit the official PBS page:
https://www.pbs.org/video/the-evolutionary-race-between-moths-and-bats-0x0bdf