h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Some moths use acoustic countermeasures to scramble bats' sonar"

I was under the impression "Sonar" was an under-water thing? Or am I wrong?

Regardless, "echo-location" would do, surely?

Seem to recall a wildlife documentary on BBC 2 quite a while back that featured a moth that had some sort of defence mechanism that you mention.It either generated some sort of sonic call itself or reflected the bats call,I can't remember which.Even if a young bat were to catch one,though,the bat would release the moth immediately because of its taste due to the toxins the moth produces naturally.

Sonar is an acronym derived from SOund Navigation And Ranging, formed by analogy to Radar (RAdio Direction And Ranging). this was deemed an improvement over the original acronym: ASDIC (Allied Submarine Detection Investigation Committee).

Although the technology was developed to detect submarines, there is no reason why the term should exclusively apply to the marine environment. Indeed, efforts were made in the twenties to develop sound-location as a means of detecting aircraft. These were ultimately unsuccessful as the sound involved was neither loud enough nor fast enough to provide sufficient early warning.

Although "echo-location" is an appropriate term, "sonar" has the advantage of being shorter.