The Natural History of Bats Condensed from Captive Care and Medical Reference for the Rehabilitation of Insectivorous Bats, by Amanda Lollar and Barbara French. The most beautiful and graceful creatures to grace our night skies, bats remain the most mythical and secretive animals on earth. They are represented symbolically in ancient cultures from Egyptian tombs to Chinese art to Mayan hieroglyphics. Although revered in some cultures, they are feared in others and many species have subsequently been persecuted to the point of extinction. Their feeding habits are responsible for seed dispersal and reforestation of the rain forest, pollination of night blooming plants, and control of insect populations. There are approximately 940 different species worldwide (Nowak, 1994). Approximately 20% of them are frugivorous (i.e. fruit, pollen, or nectar feeders). These bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers. Most of the remaining 80% are insectivorous (i.e. insect feeders), which are important in controlling insect populations. There are a few species which are specialized for catching and eating fish (piscivorous). Only about 1% of all bats are carnivorous, typically feeding on small vertebrates like frogs, lizards, birds, or other bats. There are only 3 species of vampire bats in the entire world. These bats are found in Mexico, Central and South America and feed on the blood (sanquivorous) of birds or other mammals. There are no vampire bats in the United States. Forty-one of the forty-five species of bats found in the United States and Canada are insect eaters, feeding on a tremendous diversity of insects including beetles, moths, flies, crickets, etc. Some, like the big brown bat, are beetle specialists; others, like the Mexican free-tailed bat, feed mainly on moths. Because beetles and moths lay eggs that develop into larva that feed on vegetation, including many domestic crops, bats are critical to agricultural interests in the United States. Only 3 species of bats in the United States feed on nectar or pollen. These include the long-nosed bat, the lesser long-nosed bat, and the Mexican long-tongued bat. All three species are found in the American southwest and are important pollinators of cacti and agave. Only one species, the Jamaican fruit bat in the Florida Keys, is a fruit eater. Bats are nocturnal feeders, roosting during the day in a variety of places. Some bats are crevice dwellers that roost in caves, abandoned mines, rock crevices, old cisterns or wells, hollow trees, under bridges, or beneath tree bark. Crevice dwellers may also roost during the day in human dwellings in the attics of homes or old buildings, under shingles, or behind window shutters. Others, like the yellow bat, red bat, seminole bat, and hoary bat, roost more openly in the foliage of trees or other vegetation. Some of these bats, like the red bat, resemble dried leaves and are very well camouflaged in this setting. Most bats in the United States either migrate to warmer climates during the colder winter months or hibernate in caves or underground mines where cooler, stable temperatures prevail. Some species, like the big brown bat, are known to occasionally hibernate in the attics of homes. Hibernating bats should never be disturbed. Even one disturbance, rousing it from the hibernation state, may cause a bat to use up enough fat reserves to prevent the bat from surviving the remainder of the winter. Some species in the warmer southern portions of the US may remain active in the same area year round.

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