Bat-insect interactions should be a useful source of case studies for
the ''arms race'' of predator and prey adaptations; currently, well-de
tailed examples are needed for the formulation of general hypotheses.
In this paper I add to information on bat-mantis interactions, testing
four predictions of the hypothesis that mantises with ears can detect
and avoid bats: that mantises will fly by night, that they will be vu
lnerable to bats, that echolocating bats will be better at catching de
afened than normal mantises, and that mantises which can hear bats' ca
lls will take evasive action. I found that tagged Miomantis cf. natali
ca Beier flew substantially on dark nights; indoors, undeafened mantis
es were better at avoiding Rhinolophus clivosus (Rhinolophidae: Microc
hiroptera) than were deafened mantises (n = 20 pairs; Mann-Whitney tes
t, z = 4.58, p < 0.001). Rhinolophus clivosus echolocates at 80-85 kHz
, implying that M. cf. natalica can hear higher frequencies than most
mantises (the usual best frequencies for mantises are 30-60 kHz); this
is supported by D.D. Yager, who found that two other Miomantis specie
s can hear at 80-150 kHz. The development of higher frequency hearing
in Miomantis spp. was probably driven by predation from rhinolophid an
d hipposiderid bats, many of which echolocate at frequencies over 60 k
Hz. These taxa would be suitable for further research into predator-pr
ey coevolution.