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From Pollination to Pest Control, Bats Beneficial to Texas Ecosystem
With more than 30 species of bats, Texas is incredibly rich with one of nature's most productive pest controllers and pollinators. Bats that feed upon agricultural pests like rootworms act as a natural pest control. By reducing the need for pesticides, bats protect the environment and lower costs for farmers. Bats also help control mosquitoes and other night-flying insects. Several hundred short-tailed fruit bats can be seen flying around
or hanging from the ceiling of the Zoo's Twilight House.
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Merlin Tuttle, Bat Conservation International
What do bats have to do with ghosts, goblins and Halloween? The answer is not much. Bats are not scary or evil. In fact, they are an incredibly important part of our environment. Most adult bats feed on insects, fruit and flowers. Some eat fish and other animals. Farmers with important crops like bananas, mangoes, cashews and even agave, the plant used to make tequila, rely on bats for pollination and seed dispersal. Bats that feed upon agricultural pests like rootworms act as a natural pest control. By reducing the need for pesticides, bats protect the environment and lower costs for farmers. Bats also help control mosquitoes and other night-flying insects.
Emerging from Bracken Cave, North of San Antonio, bats from this colony
may eat up to 200 tons of insects each night!
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Merlin Tuttle, Bat Conservation International
Texas is fortunate to have incredibly rich populations of bats. In fact, over 30 species of bats, most of which eat mosquitoes or other insects, live in our state. Located just North of San Antonio, Bracken cave is the largest known bat colony in the world and home to a nursery colony of almost 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats. These bats along with approximately 80 million others living in Central Texas caves eat nearly 2 million pounds of insects each night - that's roughly equal to the weight of 180 Asian elephants! Another famous bat colony can be found right in downtown Austin. During certain times of the year, tourists and locals alike gather to watch as more than 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from their home underneath Congress Avenue Bridge on their nightly hunt for insects.
As natural roosting sites like old growth tree cavities and caves are disturbed or destroyed,
bats must find other homes. The bats living under Congress Avenue Bridge
in Austin make up the most famous urban bat colony.
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Merlin Tuttle, Bat Conservation International
Even though bats have wings and can fly, they are mammals not birds. In fact, the different species of bats account for almost 1/5 of all mammal species. In order to fly, bats have modified hands with very long fingers. The bat's third finger is actually longer than its head, body and legs combined. (Stop and imagine that for a moment - in most humans that would mean a third finger somewhere between five and six feet long!) That long finger forms a significant portion of the wing, which is actually a web of skin connecting the arms, fingers and legs. Bats are excellent fliers. San Antonio's famous Mexican free-tailed bats can actually fly up to two miles high and sometimes catch tail winds that can carry them over long distances at speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour!
In everything from pest control to farming, pollination and seed dispersal, bats play an incredibly important role for both people and the environment. More information on bat viewing in Texas can be found on the websites for Bat Conservation International (www.batcon.org) and the Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area (www.devilssinkholetx.com). For an up close look at bats stop by the Zoo's Twilight Exhibit to check out the short-tailed fruit bats from South America
In this nursery colony, mothers and baby Mexican free-tailed bats
crowd together at up to 500 bats per square foot.
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Merlin Tuttle, Bat Conservation International
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