Bat Week has arrived, which strives to raise awareness about more than 1,200 bat species worldwide and their pivotal role in nature.
Not only do they have an impact on pollination and seed dispersal across the ecosystem, but bats are widely considered to be nature's pesticide due to their voracious appetite for bugs, especially mosquitoes. Seventy percent of bats eat insects and one bat can consume up to 3,000 bugs in one night. With numbers like that, some Florida officials are pitching a pilot program to use them to help combat the spread of Zika-infected mosquitoes. All 13 species that regularly occur in Illinois are insectivores, but outside of Illinois, there are bats that prey on small mammals, as well as fruit and nectar.
Bats aren't always as adorable as this:
What bats are found here?
The species that have made Illinois their home are:
- Big brown bats
- Hoary bats
- Red bats
- Silver-haired bats
- Little brown bats
- Tricolored bats
- Evening bats
- Indiana bats
- Northern long-eared bats
- Gray bats
- Southeastern bats
- Rafinesque's big-eared bat
- Small-footed bat
What about across the District's 22,000 acres of land?
There are a number of preserves where bats can be found in Will County, especially when they are located near water. While you can't see them at night when they come out to play — because the preserves close at sunset — they often can be seen during the day hanging from above.
That is, if you know where to look.
Sometimes, the District's natural resources staff hangs out after the gates close to monitor the current population.
One night this summer, we did just that.
The barn at Riverview Farmstead has become a favorite spot for a number of species over the past few years and is one of the locations where bat monitoring takes place.
Every night at dusk, they emerge from the top of the barn for their bug-eating ritual, where they use echolocation to find their prey. Outside the barn, the ultrasound emitted by the bats can be recorded on an AnaBat bat detector, and the data can then be used to help identify the specific species present. In June, the monitoring was able to identify 27 big brown bats, five little brown bats, three tricolored bats, one red bat and one silver-haired bat.
In 2013, 48 big brown bats, two silver-haired bats, one hoary bat and two little brown bats were counted at Riverview Farmstead.
It can be fascinating to watch them emerge from the barn ...
But there's one location where the nightly feeding frenzy is quite a sight to behold.
Like clockwork, they emerge from the rafters.
The night we were there, the bats put on a show, circling overhead in organized chaos.
Incredible bat fact
The gestation period for a bat is anywhere from 40 days to six months, depending on the species. But here's the real eye-popping stat: A newborn pup can weigh up to 25 percent of its mother's body weight.
We'll let you do the math on what a human baby would weigh given that same ratio.
Threats to the bat population
One of the big causes for concern comes from White-nose Syndrome, a fungal disease that was transported by humans to the United States from Eurasia. It disrupts their hibernation cycle and causes them to repeatedly wake up in the winter, which burns crucial fat reserves. It eventually causes death.
So far, WNS has been found in 26 states, as well as a number of Canadian provinces and Bat Conservation International estimates it has killed at least 5.7 million bats since the disease first landed in the U.S.
It's not just White-nose Syndrome causing issues
Species of bats that roost in trees and migrate have been negatively affected by the increase in wind turbines across the U.S.
Scientists don't have any clear answers on why bats are attracted to wind turbines but United States Geological Survey scientists at Fort Collins Science Center have created a research program to investigate the cause.
It's also believed that pesticides are contributing to bat deaths, as high levels of organochlorine insecticides are being found in dead bats. However, there is a lack of clear scientific research to link the two.
How can I help?
One of the easiest things that can be done is to consider installing a bat box in your yard, which not only provides a summer roosting habitat but also will help control those pesky mosquitoes.
While there's no guarantee you'll successfully lure bats, research shows your odds will be greatly increased if you live within 1/4 mile of water, if your house is a dark color and if the bat house will receive at least six hours or more of full sun.
Bat Conservation International also has a number of good tips and guidelines.
Photo credits: Wikipedia Commons, Glenn P. Knoblock and Chad Merda.
Follow us on social media
