Bats of Georgia & Around the World

By: Georgia Bat Working Group

Vicky Beckham Smith

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Species

• Order Chiroptera (which is Greek for ‘hand wing’)
• Second largest order of mammals (rodents are first)~ 20% of all classified mammal species worldwide
• 1,240 different species worldwide
• Two suborders:

Megabats and Microbats

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Megabats

• Smallest species is 2.4 inches long and 25 grams
• Largest is 5.6 feet in wingspan and weighs 3.5 pounds
• They use their ears, nose, and eyes for getting around and finding their food
• Most roost in trees and shrubs though some roost in caves
• Smaller bats can hover while eating fruit, but the larger bats must land.

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Benefits of Megabats

• Pollinators
• Nectar-eating bat species pollinate much of the produce you see at your local supermarket. Such as: bananas, peaches, mango, durian, guava, and agave (tequila), among others

• Seed Distributors
• Fruit-eating bats disperse seeds critical to restoring cleared or damaged rainforests
• Sometimes called“Farmers of the tropics”
• Avocados, dates, figs and cashews, among others are plants that benefit from bats seed dispersal

Megabat Distribution

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Microbats

• Smallest species is 1.14 inches long and weighs 2 grams
• Largest is 39 inches in wingspan and weighs 190 grams
• Use echolocation to find their food, which uses minimal energy in correlation to their body size
• Have good sight– helps in flight at night
• Roost in caves, trees as well as man-made structures
• Most feed on insects; however, some hunt other small invertebrates, birds, lizards, frogs, other bats, fish, and some feed on blood from other animals
• Most glean insects while in the air

Vicky Beckham Smith

Microbats and Echolocation

• Microbats generate ultrasound via the larynx and emit the sound through the nose or the open mouth. Microbat calls range in frequency from 14,000 to over 100,000 hertz, Hz (typical human hearing range is considered to be from 20 to 20,000 Hz).
• The sound produces an echo which then transmits back to the bat so that they know how far away they are from prey or an object.

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Microbat Distribution

• 16 species found here in GA
• All over the world except in the Arctic and Antarctic �

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Why are Microbats Important in Georgia?

• They can consume 300-500 mosquitoes and mosquito sized insects in one hour!
• Help maintain a fragile insect predator-prey balance for our ecosystem
• Save farmers billions of dollars in pesticide use and crop protection
• Help maintain healthy crops for farmers and foresters.
• The alternative to bats is greater pesticide use, which brings another set of ecological concerns

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Losing our Bats Worldwide

• Deforestation
• Disturbance in caves
• Habitat fragmentation
• White-nose syndrome

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What can you do to help?

• EDUCATE others about what you learned here today about bats
• Build a bat house behind your house, in a park, or along a greenway (parks and greenways you will need to acquire permission)
• Volunteer with biologists and researchers in the cause
• Be mindful when caving and decontaminate any gear used
• https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/sites/default/files/resource/national_wns_revise_final_6.25.12.pdf

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For more information, go to:��www.georgiawildlife.com�http://www.gabats.org��Or ��For classroom activities about bats to engage students: ��www.Pinetrest.com �www.batcon.org