by Grace van Kan, White River Steward
Halloween is nearly upon us, and if you visit the hardware store as often as I do, you know Halloween decorations have been out since July. Among the giant skeletons and ghoulish snow-globes you will find another cute creature ubiquitous with Halloween: the bat.
These fuzzy flying friends have been active all summer, munching mosquitos and other bugs that have the potential to negatively impact crops and trees alike. Depending on the species, a bat diet might also include fruit, frogs, fish, and more!
When they’re not moonlighting as Halloween mascots, bats are also important pollinators of over 500 species of plants worldwide, including guava, mango, banana, and agave (tequila drinkers rejoice!).
Halloween décor and the Gotham City skyline aren’t the only places you will find these agile allies. North America is home to about 154 species of bat, twelve of which can be found in Indiana. These include the Little Brown Bat, the Big Brown Bat, the Northern Long-eared Bat, and the endangered Indiana Bat—a Hoosier favorite.
All of these bats can be found in Indiana’s caves, mines, and tunnels during the winter, and caves and trees in the summer. But these are just a few of the spots a colony may roost.
Bats might even assemble in your attic during a particularly hot summer or over the winter. Attics and abandoned buildings are human-built places you might find bats as they seek shelter and warmth (or a place to cool down) during extreme weather.
While bats are often portrayed as creepy, they are actually vital members of the ecosystem. In fact, perhaps the scariest thing about bats is their decline.
Bat habitat is increasingly degraded and lost due to activities like mining and tourism. Their summer haunts are also dwindling due to development and other threats. The most recent threat to their existence is white-nose syndrome, a fatal fungal disease affecting hibernating bats in North America.
We can all help protect bats by protecting their natural habitat and refraining from disrupting the places in which they hibernate. Next time you see a white oak or a shagbark hickory, consider the bats cozied beneath the flaky bark, warmed from the sun and protected from rain.
Bats need our help to thrive in the Anthropocene, so when you hear the twittering of a bat above your head, be sure to thank it for providing pest control, pollination, and a little extra charm to the Halloween season.
(Originally published in Urban Times)
Grace van Kan
White River Steward