Now, when most of us think of bats, we think of either the infamous superhero, or we think of pesky little critters that like to hide in our attics. However, there is much more to bats than meets the eye. Speaking of eyes, ever heard the expression 'blind as a bat?' It's not necessarily true. Yes, the nocturnal creatures have horrible eyesight but they make up for it with a unique hunting and navigational strategy known as echolocation. This technique is used by thousands of species of bats, as well as all toothed whales and a few small mammal species. Echolocation is where the animal emits a sound or frequency (in bats cases, the frequency is extremely high and barely perceptible to the human ear) and listens for the echo of the sound waves bouncing off of an obstacle or prey in their path of travel. In simpler terms, echolocation is nature's radar!

Now that we've learned how bats get to their food, let's learn a little about what bat food is. Different bat species around the world have adapted diets specific to their environment. Bats in Australia, for instance, eat mainly fruit as that is a plentiful resource steadily available throughout the year. Bats in the forests of Panama eat small rodents and insects, as there is less competition for rodents than there is for fruit in that ecosystem. Bats here in the U.S. are all mainly insectivores, though, meaning they eat all sorts of bugs. Now, specifically here in Vienna, we have 3 main species of bats- the Big brown bat, the Small brown bat, and the Silver-haired bat- all of which are insectivores that specialize in devouring our favorite pesky pests: mosquitoes! Bats have an extremely high metabolism and rely on the high protein contents of insects like mosquitoes and moths to keep their body temperature up, their energy up, and their internal organs functioning. Mosquitoes, though, are rather small and do not provide a lot of minerals individually, so one bat can eat up to 2,000 mosquitoes a night!

You may be thinking, 'Okay, but what's the whole point? All you've done is outlined a basic environmental food chain principle.' To that I say, patience! While we have some bats here in Vienna, our populations are still unstable and a quarter of all bat species in Virginia are on the federal endangered species list. The problem is not food scarcity, as we have plenty to share. So, what is the issue? Habitat. Bats native to Virginia roost in between the bark and trunk of loose-barked trees or dead trees. However, dead trees are a fall risk so we usually remove them as soon as possible. There is a solution, and it's simpler than you might think.

In the early 1900s, bacteriologist Dr. Charles Campbell of San Antonio was tasked with trying to solve the malaria crisis going on in the southern U.S. and Mexico. He knew from his research that bats local to the area feasted on mosquitoes, and built the first bat house. His first attempts were humorous, yet unsuccessful. (For the full story, click here )After 2 years of studying caves and other bat houses, he finally settled on a smaller, more compact design to mimic the coziness of a belltower roost. While the building style and shape have changed over the years, Dr. Campbell is credited as the father of the bat house and is known internationally for his studies in the spread of malaria and using natural resources to combat the mosquitoes that carry it. Today, bat houses are an affordable, safe way to encourage bats to roost in a given area.

The Bat Project aims to encourage bat populations to roost in Vienna in order to control our mosquito crisis by installing 2 bat houses in Southside Park. Each bat house can support a colony of 50 mature adults, or 75 young adults. Now, while this will help, this is not a full solution. We can't change much with 100 bats. So we are calling on you! You fellow Vienna residents can help turn the tables on our mosquito crisis with these few easy steps.