BATS OF �GEORGIA �& AROUND �THE WORLD

By: Georgia Bat Working Group

Vicky Beckham Smith

Vicky Beckham Smith

SPECIES

• 1,240 species worldwide---divided into 2 groups---Microbats and Megabats

* that same number of humans would fill 23 school buses

* that same number of microbats would fill 6 bat houses like the one below

​

Dottie Brown

en.wikipedia.org

WHAT DO THEY EAT?

​

​

• Megabats food

Nectar from flowers and fruit

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

dbmlag.info

en.wikipedia.org

en.wikipedia.org

Microbats food

insects, other small invertebrates,

other bats, birds, lizards, frogs,

fish, blood

​

www.amphibiancare.com

khatibazar.com

MEGABATS

• Not only do these species feed on fruits, they are some of the world’s most important pollinators.

imgbuddy.com

Merlin D Tuttle, BCI

mentalfloss.com

MEGABATS CONT

• Distribution

www.nhc.ed.ac.uk

MICROBATS

• They can eat between 300-500 mosquitoes and mosquito sized insects in the same amount of time you have your school lunch!
• Bats help to control populations of insects that carry diseases, such as mosquitoes, as well as the many insects that eat and spoil all the crops that are gathered to be shipped to our supermarkets.

www.fcps.edu

http://markus.nolf.org

MICROBATS CONT

• Microbats use echolocation in order to find the insects they eat.

​

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAvoz_ofoeo

​

​

MICROBATS CONT

• Distribution
• 16 species found here in GA
• Located all over the world except in the Arctic and Antarctic

​

www.nhc.ed.ac.uk

LOSING OUR BATS WORLDWIDE

• Some of the major losses of bat populations are due to the cutting down of trees and using it for farmland or building other things in their place.
• In the US, Canada, and Europe there is a fungus that causes the disease known as White Nose Syndrome (WNS). Bats that have the disease wake up during winter when they should be sleeping in caves and saving their energy. Because there are no insects for them to feed on, bats that are too active during cold winter months use up their energy reserves and die.

WNS

Houses

​

newvoicesforresearch.blogspot.com

www.cbsnews.com

www.dreamstime.com

Tree Clearing

Crop

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

• Tell your friends and family how cool bats are and what they do for our environment.
• Get permission from a state park or a local greenway to have your school or boy scout or girl scout group build a bat house for them

​

covepalisades.wordpress.com

www.seabcru.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO:��WWW.GEORGIAWILDLIFE.COM�WWW.GABATS.ORG��OR ��FOR CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES ABOUT BATS TO ENGAGE STUDENTS: ��WWW.PINETREST.COM �WWW.BATCON.ORG��

Vicky Beckham Smith

Vicky Beckham Smith