Batty About Bats
By the time you’re reading this, the spooky festivities of Halloween have passed. Although, you may not have been aware that last week (Oct. 24-31) was also International Bat Week. I think that’s a call for celebration of these furry, flying creatures of the night.
Drawing of a bat from Canva.
Holding the title as the only flying mammal, bats fly with wings constructed of slender, strut-like finger bones covered by a thin membrane of skin which connects from foreleg to hindleg to tail. A common misconception is that bats have poor sight; although bats have relatively small eyes, they can actually see quite well. With large, well-developed ears, bats also have “vision” in the dark thanks to their unique audiological adaptation of echolocation. Producing sound waves from their mouth or nose in the form of high-pitched squeaks (often at frequencies higher than humans can hear), these waves bounce off of their surroundings and are echoed back. Echolocation allows bats to determine their distance from an object, the size/shape/density of an object, and the direction an object may be moving; thus they can masterfully hunt and navigate in the dark of night. So, not only can bats see normally, but they can also “see” with sound. The expression “blind as a bat” just sounds silly now, doesn’t it?
Predominantly, there are nine species of bats found in Pennsylvania— Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus), Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis), Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis), Small-Footed Bat (Myotis leibii), Tri-colored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus), Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus), Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis), and Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus). Of the above listed, the latter three species migrate to warmer climates for winter; whereas, the first six species overwinter in Pennsylvania. These hibernating species seek refuge underground, usually in caves; oftentimes, multiple species congregate together. Aside from hibernation, during the day bats will roost individually, in pairs, or in small or large groups in dark and isolated areas, such as rock crevices, hollow trees, caves, attics, buildings, barns, or even among the leaves of a tree.
Pennsylvanian bat species are primarily insectivores, feasting on an array of flying insects like moths, beetles, and mosquitoes. In a single feeding, bats can devour up to 25% of their weights’ worth in insects. Smaller, hibernating bat species are estimated to eat about a million insects per bat per year! Needless to say, bats serve a crucial role as predators, keeping our insect populations in check. It’s also worth noting that other bat species eat fruit, making them important seed dispersers.
Bats get a bad rap, perhaps due to their nocturnal, reclusive behavior, or perhaps superstitions precede them. Some common misconceptions surrounding bats are that their guano (droppings) will spread tuberculosis or other diseases to humans, they’re “dirty,” they often carry rabies, or they will aggressively attack humans. However, bats have the same chances of contracting rabies as any other warm-blooded animal; bats don’t host more parasites compared to other animals; there is no evidence that their guano transmits tuberculosis to humans; studies show that healthy bats do not attack humans, and even rabid bats are rarely aggressive. Let’s dispel these myths, and instead marvel about their key ecological roles and extraordinary physiological adaptations.
Thanks for celebrating Bat Week with me, even if it was belated. I hope you now have a deeper appreciation for these misunderstood and magical creatures of the dark, and perhaps hearing these common misconceptions will drive you batty also. However, I’m not done! Next week I’d like to look at some of the threats facing our bat populations and how you can help. I told you I’m batty about bats! To read more about the bats of Pennsylvania, visit https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Education/WildlifeNotesIndex/Pages/Bats.aspx.
Written by Faith Forry — November 4, 2020
