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Peacock Butterfly (Aglais io)
Musical
75Six Legs
Bug Bite · From the file on Peacock Butterfly

She HISSES when threatened — rubs specialized wing veins together to produce an audible hiss that startles approaching predators.

JournalOlofsson et al. (2012), Behavioral Ecology2012Verified by sources
Read the full file on Peacock Butterfly

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Death's-head hawkmoths produce an audible squeak by forcing air through the proboscis — making them one of the only moths with a 'voice.'

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Madagascar hissing cockroaches make their hiss by exhaling — making them one of the only insects on Earth with a true acoustic 'voice.'

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Mass cicada choruses reach 100 decibels — louder than a chainsaw, and capable of damaging human hearing with prolonged exposure.

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Adult lacewings court via species-specific vibrations transmitted through plant leaves — 30 cryptic species are distinguishable only by their songs.

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Females select mates partly on chirp quality — males with cleaner, more rhythmic songs father more eggs.

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The soft 'tre-tre-tre' chirp is a defining sound of late-summer evenings across eastern North America — woven into countless Hollywood film soundtracks.

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