Combat of Moth and Shrew

A strange fight between a grey shrew, smallest of North American mammals, and a black “witch moth” has been described by Laurence M. Huey of the San Diego Society of Natural History.

The moth, with a wing spread of about four inches and a body size almost equal to that of the shrew, was placed in a cage with the mammal. The shrew proved too much for the insect after the odds had been equalized by clipping a great part of the latter’s wings.

“Even with this severe handicap”, reports Mr. Huey, “the moth still was very strong and, as its body was so large, the shrew attacked it by grasping one of its wing stubs, tugging with main strength, and hanging on like a bulldog. Once, in a burst of spirited action, the shrew was pitched half way across the cage. This only caused a more determined attack and the moth finally was killed and eaten.

“Another moth, with a body about three-quarters of an inch long, was placed in the cage. It had lost many of the scales from its wings and was partially disabled. It could fly feebly, however, from one side of the cage to the other. The shrew, apparently by its sense of hearing, kept following the course of the moth until its flight carried it about two inches above the little mammal. Then, with an almost invisible quickness, the animal sprang and seized the moth in the air, much as a basketball player leaps to catch a ball high over his head. A few crunches with the sharp-toothed jaws dispatched the moth.”