Cotton bollworms and tobacco budworms cost Texas farmers about $50 million a year, and that price tag would be even higher “without the aid of nature’s crop dusters – Mexican free-tailed bats,” according to Fiscal Notes. The publication of the Texas Comptroller’s Office says it reports on “trends and topics vital to the economy of Texas” – an unusual but well-deserved venue for an article on bats. The insects cause their severe damage by, in their moth stages, laying eggs in a wide variety of crops....more

Bat Conservation International’s Bat House Project has moved aggressively in new directions to increase the number of bat species that can find homes in artificial roosts.

Since its creation in 1993, the program has collected and analyzed data from 7,000 bat-house enthusiasts around the United States, Canada and other countries. Those observations by volunteer Research Associates dramatically improved bat-house success and amply demonstrated the value of bat houses in providing refuge for bat faced with habitat loss. ...more

Once upon a time, a spotted bat poked its head into a crack in the wall of a limestone cave. He become hopelessly stuck and died there. Ten thousand years later, in 1994, two cavers in northern Arizona came upon the bat’s remains, still stuck in the crack. The cave’s still, dry air had mummified the body, which was easily identified by its unique coloration – large pink ears and striking black-and-white fur....more