A beautiful sight

[Bert Kemp]

The nightly ritual of the bats emerging from under the Congress Avenue bridge. This is the largest urban bat colony in North America. These bats consume over 30,000 pounds of insects per night. This was so cool to see, really .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g6DLECHdL4

[Malcolm McLeod]

Without insects life on this planet would not be the same...

True, but I wonder how many people have died from mosquito-borne illnesses?

And I will mourn only a couple of seconds for the exodus of fire ants from the cycle of life. At least from Texas.

[John K Jordan]

True, but I wonder how many people have died from mosquito-borne illnesses?
And I will mourn only a couple of seconds for the exodus of fire ants from the cycle of life. At least from Texas.

I certainly agree with the fire ant sentiment. I would probably agree more vocally if they were common here in TN. Haven't found any mounds yet. I feel the same about yellow jacket hornets because of allergies although I did see them in the garden before we got honeybees, hopefully pollinating.

For the mosquitoes, it comes a full circle. We need more bats! IMHO, of course.

JKJ

[Kevin Womer]

Ever had one in the living room with ya?

No, but had one in my classroom a couple of years ago. Fortunately, I was packing up for summer and the kids were already on break. Just went home and came back a couple of days later. When I went back it was gone or had crawled or flown back through the ventilation duct I believe it got in through.

[Curt Harms]

Bats in Bucks Co. PA. aren't doing so well.

https://www.sott.net/article/260364-All-but-23-of-10000-bats-in-Durham-Pennsylvania-bat-mine-have-died

Bucks County's largest bat population has met a grim fate. Scientists have confirmed that nearly all of the 10,000 bats that have hibernated in an abandoned iron ore mine in Upper Bucks for generations have died.

When Pennsylvania Game Commission Biologist Greg Turner recently visited the Durham mine for the first time in two years, he found total devastation. The Durham bat mine was once the second largest known bat habitat in Pennsylvania, but this winter only 23 were found alive. Of those, half had clear signs of infection.

Bucks County's bats were wiped out by a disease that has been killing bat colonies across the Northeast at an alarming rate in the last four years.

White nose syndrome causes a white fungus to form around the nose of infected bats. They lose the body fat needed to survive hibernation and ultimately the mammals starve to death during the winter months.

Any critter that wants to feast on 'skeeters is alright in my book.

[John K Jordan]

Bats in Bucks Co. PA. aren't doing so well. ... Bucks County's largest bat population has met a grim fate. Scientists have confirmed that nearly all of the 10,000 bats that have hibernated in an abandoned iron ore mine in Upper Bucks for generations have died.

I read that once the fungus gets into a cave it stays there even if the infected bats are gone and will infect other bats that move in.

I wonder if we all started making bat houses it it would help a comeback. Put them up all over and some of them may attract and keep uninfected bats. Our intervention in bats might be needed exactly as the intervention in honeybee populations in the US. (Without mostly backyard beekeepers the honeybees would probably be nearly extinct and much of our food supply would be critically impacted.)

Here's an magazine article on building a bat house on page 48
https://books.google.com/books?id=u_...issues_r&cad=1

I also have a PDF of an article with plans if anyone wants it.

I'm going to get off my duff and start building these. I suspect anyone who is looking for something to make and sell could sell every one, especially with the Zika virus spreading.

JKJ

[Prashun Patel]

Guano news is good news.

Did you see "Contagion"?