The World Would Be a Far Scarier Place Without Bats

Bats are a favorite scary symbol of Halloween, but really, we should be frightened for the bats that are so important to our local environment.

The bats that swoop through the skies here on Long Island can eat 1,000 mosquitoes or more in a single night, helping protect us from West Nile and encephalitis – deadly diseases that are spread by mosquitoes.

Since white-nose syndrome, a disease was first found in upstate New York in 2006, more than a million bats have died. In some caves, more than 90 percent of bats have been lost.

White-nose syndrome causes bats to wake up during their winter hibernation and fly out in search of insects, then die of starvation. Worst-hit is the little brown bat  (Myotis lucifugis) - the most common species found on Long Island. Its population has decreased 90 percent since 2006, according to the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

More than half of all bat species in the Unites States are struggling because of habitat loss, and globally, many species are facing extinction. In fact, the United Nations has named 2011-12 the year of the bat to draw attention to the global decline.

In the Southwest and Mexico, bats play an important role pollinating cacti and other plants – including agave, the plant used to produce tequila.

So, spread the word this Halloween. A world without bats would be a very scary place.

For more information on bats visit www.nature.org/bats.