Download and use of images from this site is a violation of copyright law and legal action will be pursued, unless permission has been granted by the author.
This content is from a post originally published on May 15, 2011, on my blog “Pollinators Info” (no longer online).
Bats are amazing little mammals! Unfortunately they’ve gotten a bad wrap due to myth and media. One common misconception is that they’re rats with wings… they’re not! Bats are in the Order Chiroptera, while rats (and other rodents) are in the Order Rodentia. Another misconception is that they all suck blood. A few species do drink the blood from bite wounds they inflict, typically on cattle. Most bats, however, eat insects, nectar, or fruit. Bats are one of the best controls for flying crop pests and mosquitos; each bat can eat thousands of insects every night!
Many plants depend on bats for pollination. The classic example in the U.S. is lesser long-nosed bats and Saguaro cactus flowers. The featured image shows southern long-nosed bats in South America.
Bats are especially important pollinators of tropical flowers, as seen in this photo. Dr. Nathan Muchhala studies nectar-feeding bats in Ecuador and was kind enough to allow me to use his photo here.
Featured photo copyright ANIMALIA, CC BY 2.0
| Download and use of images from this site is a violation of copyright law and legal action will be pursued, unless permission has been granted by the author. All images are copyright Athena Rayne Anderson unless otherwise stated. |
Athena Rayne Anderson 
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