Bats! The “Other” Pollinator That Needs Our Help!

Remove the fear factor and bats are incredibly important!

Image by Nadine Trief from Pixabay (species unspecified)

Bats are important pollinators, yet they are often forgotten or fear displaces their importance. Of 1300+ species of bats, about 40 are found in the United States. All the species of bats benefit people.

Bat Conservation International: About Bats

National Wildlife Federation: American Bats Online Activity Guide

Bats are voracious insectivores! In a single summer night, the Bracken Cave bats in Texas can eat over 20 tons of insects! (Source: National Wildlife Federation). Even if where you live does not provide a home for the millions of bats that live in Bracken Cave, you can be sure bats are helping to control the flying insect population nightly.

Image by M W from Pixabay

Many delicious crops also depend on bats for pollination, too! Do you like mangos, bananas, or avocados? How about figs, cashews, or carob? Tequila? Bats pollinate the agave plants used to make this spirit. In fact, all these foods depend on bats to pollinate the plants they come from. Bats are very important pollinators in tropical and desert climates…