NIGHTWINGS – BAT FACTS

As I was driving home last night, I saw it.  A small whitish blur fluttered across my windshield.  To anyone else, it would have been just an ordinary moth.  However, to me, it meant one thing – BAT FOOD !  Spring is just around the corner and Montana’s bats will soon be patrolling the nighttime skies.

 There are approximately 1,000 bat species in the world and roughly 40 species in North America.  Most  North American bats are  insectivorous, eating a wide variety of prey ranging from mosquitoes to scorpions.   Their insect control capabilities are impressive.  A few of our native species, such as the Long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris sanborni), consume pollen and nectar.

 Captive feeding experiments conducted on Little Brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) indicate that these tiny creatures can consume at least 600 mosquitoes per bat,  per hour of feeding time (3).  Approximately 20 million Mexican Free-tailed bats inhabit Texas’ Bracken Cave.  Researchers estimate that the colony consumes 100,000 kilograms of insects per night (3). 

 In addition to munching annoying insects, bats play critical roles in ecosystems throughout the world. Many plants depend on bats for part or all of their pollination or seed dispersal.  With a few exceptions, these plants occur in the tropics or subtropics.  Some of these plants possess specialized floral parts and flowering strategies to accommodate their nocturnal helpers.  In Malaysia, flowers of the Midnight Horror tree (Oroxylum irirdium) precisely match the morphology and behavior of the Dawn bat (Eonycteris spelea) (1).  The width of the bell shaped Oroxylum flowers perfectly match the shoulder width of the Dawn bat.  Thus bats larger than the Dawn bat are prevented entry and smaller bats are not capable of tipping the flower to obtain nectar

 Of the roughly 300 bat dependent plants in the Old World tropics, approximately 134 yield products of use to man (6).  Over 450 products are derived from these 134 plants including medicinals, food, drinks, fruits, dyes, tannins, timber, fiber and fuelwood (6).  The next time you eat a mango or cashews, drink guava juice, use balsa wood or cloves – thank a bat.  If you like tequila, bats have a wing in its production as well.  The agave plant, a key ingredient for production of tequila, is pollinated by the Long-nosed bat (6).  Without the help of these bats, Agave seed production drops to one three-thousandth of normal (6).

 Unfortunately, these gentle creatures are some of the most maligned critters on earth.  Fear and misinformation have led to the destruction of many bat populations.  In some areas of the world, they are also over-hunted as a food item. They are in peril worldwide.

 DISPELLING  MYTHS

 Myth #1 – Bats are blind. Bats are not blind.  In fact, they see quite well.  To augment their sight, insectivorous bats echolocate.  Bat echolocation calls range from 10 to 40 meters.  Old World Fruit bats, which do not echolocate, have large eyes and well-developed vision.

 Myth #2 – All bats are rabid. False. While all mammals can carry rabies, bats do not pose a significantly higher risk of rabies than other animals.  Although human infection is possible, rabies transmission among bats is generally limited to other bats.  As a rule of thumb, never handle any wild animal – especially one that is behaving unusually.  As with any animal, if you are bitten, consult a doctor immediately.

 Myth #3 – Bats get tangled in your hair. No they don’t.  I have stood in swarms of bats many times.  I have never been touched – much less had a bat tangled in my hair. They are echolocating aerial acrobats and can easily avoid crashing into you.  If bats are swooping around your head, they are most likely pursuing mosquitoes and other insects. Thank them for the pest control service.

 Myth #4 – Bats are rodents. Wrong ! Bats are Chiropterans – members of a major division of the class Mammalia.  Chiroptera literally means “hand-wing” in reference to their wings - which are modified hands.  Their elongated fingers serve as a framework over which is spread a delicate flight membrane.

 BATS IN FOLKLORE AND LEGEND

 Bats have commonly been associated with witches and vampires.  Generally, this is not portrayed as a positive association.  However, in some parts of the world, bats are considered quite lucky. 

 Macedonian gypsies considered  bats to be the luckiest of all animals.  As a result, people used to carry bat bones to guarantee happiness in life.  In Bohemia, the right eye of a bat was believed to grant invisibility if it was carried in a waistcoat pocket (2).

 In the 19^th century, river boat gamblers in the Southern US often carried bat parts for luck.  This practice may have originated in Southern Germany, where gamblers used to tie a bat’s heart to their dealing arm for luck (1,5).

 The Azande people of Central Africa believe that bats are the vehicles for the souls of witches (2).

 The ancient Mayans associated bats with death and darkness.  The Mayan word for bat was “Zotz” and “Zotziha” (bat house) was one of the regions of the underworld through which the dead must pass.  This realm was inhabited by the fearsome vampire bat god “Camazotz” (2).

 The bat was the emblem of the soul in Babylonia (5).

 In Chinese, the characters for the words bat and luck are different but they are both pronounced “Fu”.  Bats are considered lucky and two bats are often drawn on gifts to indicate good wishes. The symbol of five bats in a ring represents the five great joys sought by man: health, wealth, good fortune, longevity and peace (2).

 Among many Australian Aboriginal groups, bats are considered a “sex animal”.  They are associated with males and masculine identity.  Men are generally considered a brother to the bat, while women are seen as  sisters to the birds (2).

On the Isle of Man and the Welsh border, witches were believed to transform themselves into bats (4).

Oddly enough, the Manx people believed that is was good luck for a bat to fall on you (although highly unlikely) (4).

In Oxfordshire, England, it was considered a death omen if a bat circled a house three times (4).

As far as talismans are concerned, bat images carved on bloodstone were felt to improve incantations and magical workings (5).

In other magical applications, some believe that the bat best represents keen sight and the ability to navigate through obstacles safely (5).

The list goes on and on…..try your hand and see what bat trivia you can find !

Many bat species are threatened or endangered.  Neither live bats nor bat parts should ever be used for rituals! Please respect them and the vital role they play in our Earth’s ecosystems.

Citations

1 Brown, Michelle, 1995. Bats as Pollinators and Seed Dispersal Agents.

2 Hill, John E., and James D. Smith, 1984. Bats A Natural History.

3 Nagorsen, David W. and R. Mark Brigham, 1993. Bats of British Columbia.

4 Radford E., and M. A. Radford, 1961.  The Encyclopedia of Superstitions. 

5 Telesco, Patricia, 1995. The Magick of Folk Wisdom.

6 Tuttle, Merlin, 1988. America’s Neighborhood Bats.

Bat Conservation International website, check it out:  www.batcon.org

 

 Michelle Brown