Bats Helping Rid Us of Lanternflies

 

We have known in NJ for several years about the spotted lanternfly. The New Jersey State Department of Agriculture put out warning about how this insect invader could have devastating effects on farms and vineyards in the Garden State.

One piece of good news is that a researcher at Rutgers found that the invasive species has an enemy that we didn't know about before – bats. "Most recently, we've discovered that they are eating the spotted lanternfly," said Erin McHale, a PhD candidate. As a part of McHale's research study, she analyzes what bats are eating by studying their guano (bat poop).

Bats are incredibly helpful to humans. Many bats eat insects and some can consume thousands of mosquitoes in a single night, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.

Fruit bats pollinate plants. We are not growing bananas, mangoes, and agave in NJ but where it is grown they help maintain ecosystems and agriculture.

Bats spread seeds through their droppings, helping forests regenerate and grow. 

New Jersey residents can help by installing a bat house. If it attracts bats, they can consume thousands of insects every night in your neighborhood. 

Good Public Relations for Some Misunderstood Species

People love seeing an eagle in flight. People pay to go on whale watches. Birdwatchers are all over our state and the world. But some species don't get the same love and attention as those.

I first learned about woodrats when I volunteered for a project in the Palisades of northern New Jersey. Except for a few Disney rats, most people avoid and dislike rats. You certainly don't want them near or in your home or outside your favorite restaurant. But the Allegheny woodrat won't be in those places. 

Their habitat is rocky areas associated with mountain ridges such as cliffs, caves, talus slopes and crevasses. In New Jersey, Allegheny woodrats occur in sloping fields of rock near the bases of cliffs. The Palisades is the site of New Jersey’s last remaining woodrat population.

The ALLEGHENY WOODRAT (Neotoma magister) is a mammal and its conservation status in New Jersey is endangered.

Bats of all types are the stuff of too many horror movies and legends. (Thank goodness that Batman is a good guy!) You might know that they serve an important role in the ecosystem. They are particularly important in controlling the notorious New Jersey mosquito population.

One bat species that may not be familiar is the TRICOLORED BAT (Perimyotis subflavus) a mammal that is endangered in NJ. 

Formerly called the eastern pipistrelle, this small bat is about 2 inches in body length. Their fur is yellowish-brown, with a namesake tri-coloration that comes from the individual hairs on the bat's back, which are dark at the base and tip and yellowish-brown in the middle.

They are not interested in people at all. Their diet and interest is a wide variety of insect prey. These include moths emerging from corn crops, other flying insects, and beetles. Tricolored bats are a free source of pest control services that benefit both the natural ecosystem and the human economy.

These infographics are from the CWFNJ Instagram page. Follow them!

Bat Migration and Hibernation

When we think of migration flights by some species, birds are probably what we are thinking about. But bats also migrate. During these migrations, they will often rest in odd places - window screens, exterior walls of homes and buildings - and will frighten humans.  

Silver-haired bat found in Newark - Photo: K.Perotta via NJDEP 

They are often alone and may remain for a day or two. They are not harmful or threatening to humans and should be left alone. What you should do is take a photo and send it to  MacKenzie.Hall@dep.nj.gov with information about the location and date. The Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) is able to catch some of these migrating bats in mist nets and then use nanotags to track them for a few weeks to learn about their patterns. Your photos and information can supplement that data. Even if you don't know what species you have found, take several photos from different angles and send them for identification.

Hoary bat found in Avalon - Photo: M.Wright via NJDEP

New Jersey has had an active bat conservation program for many years that has a focus on protecting winter dens of non-migratory species that gather together for hibernation. These winter colonies often number in the hundreds or thousands. Bats are especially vulnerable to disturbance and vandalism during hibernation. Even unintentional human activity can arouse the bats and cause them to use up their energy reserves too quickly. 

The Hibernia Mine in Rockaway Township, Morris County is our most famous "bat cave" or hibernaculum. The site had been used for mining iron ore from the early 1720s until operations ended around 1913. Bats were first observed in the abandoned mine in the 1930s, and by the 1980s more than 20,000 bats were wintering there each year. But vandalism and trespassing were big problems. When federally endangered Indiana bats were found to be using the mine in 1992, New Jersey acquired the property soon thereafter via the Green Acres Program and it is now part of the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area.

The hibernating colony climbed to around 30,000 bats in the early 2000s, with Little Brown bats being most numerous but bats of all cave-hibernating species seeking refuge there. Sadly, White-nose Syndrome hit Hibernia in January 2009 and more than 90% of the bats died.

For more on NJ bats: state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/bat.htm

Hosting a Bat House

A recent inquiry to me asked about whether or not fall is a good time to put up a bat house. The short answer is No, it's not the best time. Then again, putting up a bat house is always a good thing, though fall is not the best time.

A bat roost box, or "bat house," on your property is a good way to do local wildlife conservation. Bats are incredibly important, especially in insect (mosquito!) control. Bats - like snakes, coyotes and many insects - have a bad reputation in our culture. A single adult bat can eat close to its body weight in insects every night.

A bat roosting box helps bats to persist in the face of many significant threats, including habitat loss, mortality from wind turbines, and impacts from a fungal disease called White-Nose Syndrome. A bat "roost" is the place bats use to rest and raise their young. In their natural habitat, bats roost in tree cavities, among leaves, and under bark. 

Some species have adapted to roosting in man-made structures such as houses, barns, and bridges and these bats will occupy roost boxes. It is similar to those birds who will use artificial nest boxes. The two species that most commonly use bat houses in the northeast United States are big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus).

So, when is the best time to put up a bat roosting box? Early spring would be the best time as it is during the spring and summer months when females roost together in "maternity colonies" to raise pups. (Males may use bat houses to roost individually or in small groups.)

Bat box on Amazon.com

Bats are rather particular when it comes to finding a new home. You can purchase a bat house online or from a wildlife specialty store, or you can construct a bat house yourself. I sent the inquirer a link to Rutgers Wildlife Conservation and Management Program at  wildlife.rutgers.edu/bats/

Their website is the best place to find out the details, but here are some bat preferences for roosting: 

• box size at least 2 feet tall and 14 inches wide
• with single or multiple roosting chambers
• vents, ½ inch wide on the front of the bat house allow for airflow
• Face the bat house south/southeast to attain maximum sun exposure (6–8 hours/day). Most bats need temperatures >85°F to retain body heat and keep young pups warm. Morning sun is best.
• Mount the bat house at least 12 feet off the ground. Higher is better. Bats swoop into and out of the bat house, and they need plenty of clearance to do so.
• If possible, choose a location near a water body such as a stream, river, pond, or lake.
• Bat houses can be installed on the sides of buildings, poles, and dead trees ('snags').
• Make sure there are no artificial lights directly shining onto your bat house, and no vents blowing air at the bat house.

In the spring, bats return from hibernation to their summer roost sites, so having a box up prior to their arrival is the best time. You may not get occupants the first year. The location is critical. Farmland, woods, and water are all ideal but not absoli=ute requirements. Once found and used, bats should return yearly to the same location.

Once you have a bat house, you can join the Rutgers Bat House Distribution Program which provides and installs free bat houses to homeowners who are getting a bat exclusion performed on their property. But any homeowner can also enroll in their bat-monitoring program.

Bats in Your Belfry?

Indiana bat

You probably don't have bats in your belfry. The phrase has come to mean you're a bit crazy. You probably don't have a belfry (bell tower) either, but you my have bats in you attic, barn, garage, eaves or shed.

Now that we have some warm nights and flying insects, bats are out working on regaining weight lost during winter hibernation. They are looking for moths, mosquitoes, and beetles and returning to their summer roosts. 

If you find that bats are roosting in your attic, eaves, or other part of your home, please be advised that bats are protected by law in New Jersey, and there are proper methods to follow if you wish to exclude bats from a building. Bat exclusion cannot be done during the months of May, June, or July, when maternity colonies are present and young pups could become trapped inside the building.

Bats have long been misunderstood and unfairly persecuted by people as fearsome, rabid creatures, and their appearance around the home can cause a lot of panic. While bats actually have a very low likelihood of carrying disease, are quite timid of people, and are excellent to have around for backyard bug control, there is some risk associated with bats in buildings, particularly when they wind up in the living space.

All bats - like all of NJ's native nongame wildlife - are protected by law under the NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act of 1973, making it illegal to harm, harass, capture, or kill bats, or to attempt to do so (with the exception of Rabies testing as described above). Physically removing bats or poisoning bats is NOT legal and NOT effective. Fly traps and glue traps should NOT be used in places where bats may encounter them.

From the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife's page about "Bats in Buildings" gives this advice on bat encounters:

If a bat is flying around in your living area and there's no chance that someone was bitten, the easiest way to get it back outdoors is to shut yourself in the same room as the bat, leave a light on so you can see, open a window or door to the outside, and crouch down low away from the opening, staying still and quiet so the bat can calm down, too. Watch until the bat flies out. It should only take a few minutes for the bat to sense the air flow and detect the exit through echolocation. It will not land on you or "attack" you.

If the bat lands in a reachable place, you can put leather work gloves on, cover the bat with a small container or bowl, and carefully slide a piece of cardboard over the opening to enclose the bat inside the container. If it's nighttime, go outside and hold the container up high in front of you (facing away from you), then remove the cardboard and tip the container slightly forward so the bat can crawl to the edge and swoop out. If it's daytime, walk to a nearby tree or forested area and release the bat at the base of a tree so it has a place to climb and seek shelter until dusk. Bats need to swoop from an elevated position to gain flight, so they have a hard time taking off from the ground.

If a bat appears injured or needs care, and there's no chance that someone was bitten, please contact a NJ Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator near you that handles bats. Check njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/rehab_list.pdf

If direct contact may have occurred between a bat and a person or pet, NJ residents should call their local health department  Check nj.gov/health/lh/community

If you're concerned about a colony of bats roosting in your attic, eaves, or other part of your home or building, that's a different process altogether, and a Nuisance Wildlife Control specialist should be called out for an inspection. You can contact mackenzie.hall@dep.nj.gov and report your bat colony to help track the population.

A Dangerous Time for Hibernating Bats

You may be spending more time indoors now that it is winter, but New Jersey's non-migrating bats have gone into hibernation. It is a dangerous time for them no, particularly because of white-nose syndrome. This is caused by a fungus that was originally introduced inadvertently by humans exploring caves in New York State.

The disease has decimated many bat species. It scars their wings and disrupts their hibernation patterns. One of its effects is that it causes them to wake and fly around when they should be sleeping, and so their energy reserves deplete and they die from starvation, thirst and exhaustion.

Bats are the single largest consumer of night-flying insects like mosquitoes, beetles and moths. Not only does that help humans be less bothered outdoors in the summer and decrease the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, but it this natural insect control helps our Garden State agriculture.

A little brown bat with white nose syndrome.

The most affected of New Jersey's bats is the little brown bat which was once common but has now become rare. NJ's largest hibernaculum is the old Hibernia Mine in Morris County. Before the syndrome hit our state in 2007, Hibernia was the winter home for 34,000 little brown bats. Now, there are only about 400.

The best we can say currently is that this small population seems to be leveling off.

Big brown bats seem to be unaffected by white-nose syndrome and it may be because they hibernate in different locations than the little brown bat. They prefer cold but dry places, such as attics. (If you discover bats in your attic or home, don't try to remove them on your own. Call a bat removal expert, who can safely remove them.) Caves tend to be warmer and have higher humidity which may increase the fungus spreading. When the big brown bats do use subterranean locations, they stay close to entrances where it is colder. They may, if the weather warms enough, even awaken, seek water and perhaps breed.

Modifications in the Hibernia cave to increase air flow may drop temperatures slightly, inhibiting the growth of white-nose fungus.

Little brown bats, northern long-eared bats, tri-colored bats and eastern small-footed bats are all affected by white-nose syndrome, and have been recommended for inclusion on the state's endangered species list.


More on New Jersey's bats
http://wildlife.rutgers.edu/bats/
http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/protecting/projects/bat/white-nose/
Bat Conservation International www.batcon.org.

Halloween Bats Are Probably Only on Video in NJ

Bats are part of Halloween lore, imagery and decorations. But while kids are knocking at your door looking for no trick and a few treats, most of New Jersey's bats have moved underground to hibernate or have migrated south for the winter.

You probably won't see any bats overhead tonight, but you can learn about these interesting - and beneficial! - creatures in a video featuring NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife biologist MacKenzie Hall.

Bring Back the Bees

An interesting environmental advertising project - a billboard that produces real honey
for Honey Nut Cheerios.

What is the only insect that produces food eaten by humans? It is nature's most economical builders, bees. In 36 BC, Marcus Terentius Varro argued that honeycombs were the most practical structures around. Centuries later, Greek mathematician Pappus solidified the "honeycomb conjecture" by making the same claim.

The weather is warming and you're probably seeing bees out looking for spring flowers. Hopefully, you are a friend of bees. Of course, there are reasons to avoid doing things that might provoke a bee to go into a defensive mode and sting you. But encouraging bees in your garden and in nature in general is a good thing for all of us and for the planet.

The amazing little bees might surprise you with their good color vision. Flowers have many colors for that attractive reason. Bees especially like blue, purple, violet, white and yellow.

Did you know that honeybees can make out faces the same way we do? They take parts—like eyebrows, lips, and ears—and cobble them together to make out the whole face. It's called "configural processing," and it might help computer scientists improve face recognition technology

We need bees. One in three foods we eat is made possible by bees and other pollinators who spread the pollen that crops need to grow. That includes many of our favourite foods like apples, almonds, coffee, and of course, honey. 70 out of the top 100 human food crops are pollinated by bees

An important part of sustainable agriculture is bees.

There are over 20,000 species of bees in the world. Honeybees have thrived for 50 million years, but colonies recently started dying in large numbers. 42% of bee colonies in the U.S. collapsed in 2015.

Why? Renowned entomologist and bee specialist Marla Spivak reveals four reasons why, and what we can do to help in this Ted Talk.



Common sense actions can restore and protect the world’s bees. Good starting places are:
- Ban the seven most dangerous pesticides.
- Protect pollinator health by preserving wild habitat.
- Restore ecological agriculture.

Cheerios cereal (General Mills) partnered early this year with Veseys Seeds to give away wildflower seeds so that people would plant them and make the world a bee-friendlier place. They quickly met their goal of distributing 100 million seeds.

The promotion hit a snag though because in sending free packets of wildflower seeds to people all over the country, they seem to have failed to take into account that some of the flowers included are invasive species in some areas that should NOT be planted there.  For example, Forget-me-not (which was listed on their site but supposedly not included in the seed mix) is banned as a noxious weed in Massachusetts and Connecticut. And the California poppy is good in California, but listed as an “invasive exotic pest plant” in southeastern states. Some of the flowers on there list are not native to anywhere in the US, so they are not necessarily good matches for our local bees.

Of course, you can still plant wildflowers on your own that are bee-friendly. This guide for the mid-Atlantic states is useful to grow pollinator-friendly plants. For other parts of the country, go to xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/plant-lists/ or check the USDA site to see if a plant is native to your state.

I am pleased to see General Mills making efforts for bees, even if this seeds project was less than perfect. By 2020, they expect their oat farms will host about 3,300 acres of nectar- and pollen-rich wildflowers, which are full of the nutrients bees and other pollinators need to stay strong.

Finally, it is important to remember that you can do more than just plant flowers to help create a bee-friendly habitat. Avoiding using pesticides outside on or near the flowers (including if you have a garden or lawn service spraying) is very important.

Also note that bees are not our only pollinators. Bees are the major pollinators - and this includes not just honey bees - but also hummingbirds and some kinds of butterflies, and to a lesser degree spiders, flies and wasps. Even bats who feed on the insects in the flowers as well as on the nectar and flower parts play a role in the pollination of over 300 species of fruit around the world.

Flemington “BatCam”

Brown bat      photo: wikimedia.org

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) wildlife ecologist Stephanie Feigin, along with project partner MacKenzie Hall from New Jersey’s Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP) and project interns from Rutgers University, streamed a bat banding LIVE on Facebook from a residential house in Flemington, New Jersey. The banding has reached over 200,000 online followers as of Thursday morning.

Watch the video from Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Facebook page.

This banding survey was part of a long standing maternity survey project conducted by CWF in partnership with NJDEP. These surveys allow us to gain important information about reproductive success, record weight, sex and age status of the bats, assess bats for signs of white-nose syndrome, and band bats for future observation.

“Though going ‘live’ can be a bit nerve-wracking, I really felt this once in a lifetime opportunity could make a difference. Not only do we want to give our viewers first-hand experience of our field biologists, we also want to give them the ability to see wildlife in a way they have never seen before,” said Feigin. “This technology gives us the ability to raise awareness for New Jersey’s rare wildlife, directly interacting with thousands of followers as we conduct important wildlife surveys to protect these imperiled species.”

During the banding survey and live-streaming, the scientists caught and banded over 35 big brown bats. Many New Jersey bat species have plummeted over the past decade due to the ravages of white-nose syndrome, an introduced fungus that interrupts bats’ winter hibernation.

In addition to banding bats, CWF coordinates acoustic bat monitoring, summer bat counts, mist netting and radio telemetry surveys, and white-nose syndrome research – all aimed at ensuring bats are given the best chance at survival.

This work is funded in part by Cooper Pest Solutions, EarthColor, and the Franklin Parker Conservation Excellence Grants Program.

“The main goal of our bat projects is to protect the bats we have in New Jersey, protect their habitats, learn more about their life cycles, and educate the public on the benefits of bats and how amazing and beneficial they truly are,” said Feigin. “By streaming live, I think we were able to shed new light on bats and allow the public to gain a better understanding for these special mammals.”

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/


Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) is the state's leading organization working to protect rare and imperiled wildlife. CWF utilizes field science, wildlife management, habitat restoration, education, and public engagement to help vulnerable wildlife species recover.

A Real Halloween Bat Tale

Still frame from The Creature Show on bats - see below

As Michele Byers reminds us, those bats that are popular as Halloween decorations, are in reality very misunderstood. They won't suck your blood, fly into your hair or spread disease. Those are just a few common myths.

Bat Bits

Bats eat thousands of insects a night and reducing our need for chemical insecticides. Just one nursing female can eat more than her weight in bugs (up to 4,500 insects) in a night.

There are no vampire bats in New Jersey or anywhere else in the United States.

Bats rarely attack unless disturbed and are actually shy and will move away if you approachi their roosting area.

Just like raccoons, squirrels and other mammals, they can carry rabies BUT less than one percent of bats carry rabies.

White-Nose Syndrome, a disease caused by a fungus, has entered their NJ winter hibernation caves (hibernacula). In New Jersey, we’ve lost 98 percent of our cave-hibernating bats, according to the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

This new episode of The Creature Show, a series focusing on the state’s rare and endangered species, features NJ bats and researchers including the northern long-eared bat, a newly-listed federally threatened species.

Hibernating Time

Photo: www.bear.org

This week as the polar vortex dips into New Jersey and we say good bye to 60 degree days, animals may not be the only ones in our state thinking about winter hibernation.

The popular idea of hibernation is probably closer to a storybook version of fattened bears curled up in a cave than the ways that New Jersey's creatures are preparing to hibernate using a variety of physiological strategies.

After an animal finds or makes a living space (hibernaculum) that protects it from winter weather and predators, the animal's metabolism slows dramatically.

Our over-wintering bats, including the federally-endangered Indiana bats, are true hibernating mammals who regulate their metabolism to create a torpid, cold, inactive state.

That's why White Nose Syndrome is so serious of a threat. The fungus disrupts their sleep, causes them to fly and exhausts their fat reserves even if they only wake up in mid-winter for brief periods.

Also in that hibernation category are some rodents like woodchucks and chipmunks. They can maintain a constant body temperature of 38 degrees. But woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, will not be coming out of hibernation naturally as early as February 2 in order to to satisfy some news crew's need for a Groundhog Day story.

For chipmunks, their den temperatures remain mostly above freezing because burrow entrances are plugged and the burrow system extends below frost line. Body temperature drops to within a few degrees of the burrow temperature and is often around 40 F. Every few days, chipmunks elevate body temperature to over 94 F.

Timber rattlesnake - photo by Kris Schantz via state.nj.us/dep/

Our timber rattlesnakes in the Ridge and Valley and Highlands regions will hibernate in deep, rocky mountain crevices with a southern exposure.

In the Pinelands, lacking those rocky crevices, the rattlesnakes will hibernate in the springs and roots of cedar swamps where the water movement means it probably will never freeze.

The Northern pine snake, which also inhabit the Pinelands, will  first fully digest their last autumn meal before hibernating. (Undigested food in a reptile can lead to bacterial infection and death.) Then, they will burrow into upland sands about four feet below the surface to hibernate.


Fish and many reptiles and amphibians don't go into a true hibernation but rather into dormancy. That is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. This allows some species to survive extremely low oxygen conditions in the mud and deep water of ponds.

Aquatic frogs such as the American bullfrog typically hibernate underwater. They do not spend the winter like aquatic turtles who dig into the mud at the bottom of a pond or stream. If hibernating frogs did that, they would suffocate. Hibernating aquatic frogs require oxygen-rich water and spend a good portion of the winter just lying on top of the mud or only partially buried and may even slowly swim around from time to time.

A hibernating turtle's metabolism slows down so drastically that it can get by on the mud's poor oxygen supply.

Of course, we also have terrestrial frogs that normally hibernate on land. American toads and other frogs will burrow deep into the soil, safely below the frost line. Not all frogs are diggers. The wood frog and the spring peeper will find deep cracks and crevices in logs or rocks or, not as safely, just burrow down as far as they can in the leaf litter.

Black bears are still our number one poster species for hibernation but they are not true hibernators and may be active all year long.

Black bears begin entering their winter dens in the fall to avoid periods of food shortage and severe weather. Impregnated females typically enter dens first, during the last week in October. Males may not enter dens until December.

Unlike smaller mammals that hibernate, black bears do not drop their body temperature appreciably. They enter a state of torpor (low metabolic activity). The small amount of urine that is produced is reabsorbed by their kidneys and they don't have to wake up to urinate or defecate.

Bears are too big to allow their bodies to get really cold and they need to be able to wake up quickly in an emergency. Den sites generally include ground nests, excavation sites, brush piles, hollow trees, rock cavities and caves (which are not very plentiful in NJ) and sometimes beneath houses and other buildings. The den sites are typically small in size to retain body heat and ensure that black bears stay well insulated.

They live off of their body fat, which is metabolized to produce the calories and water that they need to survive. They generally lose between 18-20% of their body fat while in their dens and they are able to maintain their bone and muscle mass. While in torpor black bears are capable of being easily awakened if disturbed and they may leave their dens on mild winter days in search of food.

Hurray, Bats Are Back in NJ

hibernating bats

Bats in New Jersey go into dormancy, hibernating in caves and abandoned mines, for the cold winter months. But those bats will be active again in the late spring, summer, and early fall.

The Hoary Bat, Red Bat, and Silver Haired Bat are part time residents to our state and migrate to southern states in the fall to over winter in the milder climate and return.

However, bats do not get the same good public relations that returning birds and butterflies get when they return to our state. We might see that first robin on the lawn as a sign of spring, but the site of that first brown bat doesn't have the same effect on most people.

Unfortunately, in our ever-changing world, bats have evolved to be habitat and food specific. They rely on certain food sources and certain habitats in order to survive. That makes them very vulnerable to disturbances to their places of hibernation or roosting. Changes to their habitat can also affect available food or water.

Of course, New Jersey is a state where many areas are constantly changing and hibitats are being changed or lost.

Bats need to eat and drink every night. The best areas for them are probably open grasslands and edges of forests where insects are abundant. They also like to roost near open bodies of water where
they drink water without landing.

During the day, they roost in tight crevices such as cracks in rocks, under exfoliating tree bark and in awnings of buildings because these places offer protection from predators and stable temperatures.

Groups such as the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ conduct summer bat surveys to monitor populations and also to encourage bat population stability using "bat houses."

Of course, they are valuable to us because they are the primary predators of night flying insects. It is often noted that a single little brown bat can consume up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in an hour and up to 3,000 insects in a single night. Nursing mothers can eat up to 4,500 insects nightly, which is more than their own body weight.

Many of the insects they consume are ones we label as "pests":cucumber beetles, leaf hoppers, termites, ants, roaches, corn earworms, grasshoppers, and mosquitoes.

Fear of bats goes back a long way in our history, literature and folklore. In fact, less than one percent of wild bats have rabies.

And despite my mother's stories, bats do not entangle themselves in human hair. They don't really want to even encounter people and will do so more in defense than anything else.

And despite tales of vampires, very few species of bats are blood consuming. There are more than a thousand species of bats worldwide. Only three consume animal blood (usually cattle and poultry) and none live in the United States.

As with snakes and some other animals, one danger to bat populations is our fear and misinformation about them. Protecting their habitats from disturbance is important to maintaining a good bat populations. That is especially true in the warm-weather breeding months.

If bats do get into your home, getting them out safely is important. It is illegal for anyone, including animal control officers and exterminators, to kill bats.  (Download information on nuisance control guidelines)

The critical time to NOT disturb them is mid-May to mid-September.

Information on Bats:
Bat Conservation International  www.batcon.org
Bat Conservation and Management  http://www.batmanagement.com

Information on the Bats of New Jersey
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/bat_fact_sheet.pdf
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/bat.htm
www.conservewildlifenj.org

Hibernating Bats

In autumn, bats will find their traditional hibernation locations and often migrate hundreds of miles to the abandoned mines and caves where they will spend the winter months.

Some of our common New Jersey bats congregate in colonies, often in caves, mine or buildings. These "social bats" usually return to the same roost year after year and start maternity colonies in the spring.

Nine species of bats are considered regular residents of New Jersey. These include the little brown bat, big brown bat, northern long-eared bat, small-footed myotis, Eastern pipistrel, Indiana bat (state and federally endangered), hoary bat, red bat and silver-haired bat. The hoary, red and silver-haired bats are part-time residents that are found here from spring through fall. They migrate to southern states for the winter. The other six species remain here throughout the entire year and require special habitats for winter hibernation.

Natural caves once provided hibernating habitat for bats, but today most caves are subject to disturbance by people and thus are not suitable for use by bats. Abandoned mines and tunnels, storm drains and sewers have replaced natural caves as the primary winter habitat for many bats. Since those places are often unsafe to enter or inaccessible to people, they are desirable locations. But bats will sometimes hibernate in homes, garages, sheds and barns if there is access and it appears isolated to them.

New Jersey's largest known bat hibernaculum is the Hibernia Mine in Rockaway Township, Morris County. It was abandoned as a mine in the early 1900s and there are records of bats using the mine going back to the 1930s. After decades of the bats being disturbed, chased or even killed and landowner attempts to seal the mine, it is now a protected location.

Since they are particularly vulnerable to pollution and pesticides, the presence or absence of bats can tell scientists a lot about the overall health of the local environment.

Hibernating hoary bat on garage in Hunterdon County

I recently received via this site an email from someone in Hunterdon County who had discovered a bat hibernating attached to the outside of their garage. They were concerned about its exposure to the weather.

I recommended that they leave it alone and use the contact page at NJbats.org/ifoundabat.html in the hope that they could give them advice or take the bat.

I'm pleased that this bat was picked up by Jackie of NJ Bats and she was very excited that it was a female hoary bat and was most likely pregnant.

Hoary Bat - Photo by Jennifer Linehan - nps.gov 

Hoary bats are the most widespread of all bats in the United States and are thought to occur in all 50 states. They range from the tree limit in Canada down to at least Guatemala in Central America, and throughout South America. They are the only bats found in Hawaii.

They are rarer in most of the eastern United States but have also been found in Michigan, New York and Connecticut during December and in Indiana during January. This suggests that some may winter farther north than was previously expected.

Hoary bats are migratory and move north in spring and south in winter. It tends to be rather solitary and frequents wooded areas where it roosts in the open (not in buildings) by hanging from a branch or twig. It is more easily recognized by its large size and its swift, erratic flight. This bat usually emerges rather late in the evening, but during migration it frequently is observed in daylight hours

Two kinds of bats in New Jersey are often found roosting in colonies inside buildings: the big brown and little brown bats.

The big brown bat has a wingspread of about 14 inches and is our most common species. Colonies of up to 200 individuals return each spring to locations (including homes and other buildings) in New Jersey.

Although they have relatively long lives, reproduction is slow. Generally one is born each year. The big brown bat accounts for over 75 percent of the bat contacts with people and pets and is the bat most often tested for rabies.

Little Brown Bat

The little brown bat is also quite common in homes during the spring and summer, and large numbers hibernate in our abandoned iron mines. However, the number of human and animal exposures, and the number of little brown bats found to be rabid, are much less than for the big brown bat.

When bats are hibernating, it is a time that scientists often study them. Much of the research and surveying on White Nose Syndrome is done at this time.

White Nose Syndrome is a "bat plague" that has killed nearly 7 million bats since it first appeared in the US in New York State. The deadly fungal disease has spread to 19 states as far west as Missouri, as far south as Alabama and north into Canada.

The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) has been hardest hit by the sickness because it is the most common of our bat species, but there are 22 other species of American bats that also hibernate in caves that are being affected.

Bats showing the White Nose Syndrome fungus in hibernation
Image: www.bats.org.uk

Like a number of other threatened and endangered species, such as snakes, wolves, and wood rats,  there are many myths and misunderstandings about bats.

For example, all of the bats found in New Jersey are strictly insect eaters. No vampires in Jersey. Many people fear a bat bite because of rabies. It makes sense not to touch bats that you find, but less than one percent of bats carry rabies and attacks by bats are extremely rare. They almost never get tangled in people's hair, despite my mother's warnings about that.

They are not blind, but they depend more on their sonar hearing than eyesight to navigate and avoid obstacles - and to capture insects. Because a bat can consume hundreds of insects in an hour, they keep our mosquito population down in areas where they congregate.

Bats are the only truly flying mammals. They belong to the order Chiroptera and are not rodents. They are mammals because the have hair, giving birth to live young, and feed their young milk produced by mammary glands.

Most bats produce only one offspring (called a pup) annually and rear their young for the first few weeks of life until they are able to fly and feed on their own. These reproductive and rearing practices make them the slowest reproducing mammals on earth for their size. Despite their slow reproduction, bats exist in large numbers and encompass one quarter of all mammal species, second in population only to rodents.

Individual bats can live to be 30 years old and colonies can be present at the same location for over 100 years.

A story last year on the Wild New Jersey site, says that while bat populations are on the decline across New Jersey and the United States, in Central New Jersey's Dismal Swamp Conservation Area (DSCA), the Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) and Eagle Scouts have taken action and are doing something about this world-wide bat extinction crisis. Bat populations in Northern Central New Jersey are actually increasing due to conservation activities.

MORE INFORMATION

• Bat Conservation International   batcon.org
• Bat Conservation and Management   batmanagement.com

ABOUT BATS IN NEW JERSEY

• http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/bat_fact_sheet.pdf
• http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/bat.htm
• www.conservewildlifenj.org

White-Nose Disease Has Killed A Million Bats So Far

White-nose disease was first discovered in a single bat cave in upstate New York in 2006. Since then, the fatal fungal illness, which shows up as white patches on the faces and wings of hibernating bats, has spread to 16 states and crossed the Canadian border. The fungus, Geomyces destrucans, is now killing bats in caves, mine shafts, and abandoned buildings as far south as North Carolina, and as far west as Oklahoma. Biologists say that a million bats have died so far, and they add that, unless a way is found to stop the disease, within two decades bats may be entirely extirpated from some regions of the country.

The little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) has been hardest hit by the sickness—but that’s only because the little brown is the most common of our bat species. There are 22 other species of American bats that also hibernate in caves, and many of those bats are being affected as well...

Bats apparently spread the disease to one another when they gather in groups to hibernate. Biologists note that damp, cool caves are ideal places for a fungus to grow. According to scientists, people may also unwittingly be spreading the disease on their shoes and clothing when they travel from one cave to another. As a result, wildlife biologists recommend that people stay out of caves where bats are hibernating.

Another way people can help bats is by using as few pesticides as possible. Each night, bats eat up to two-thirds of their body weight in insects, and when the insects they eat have been exposed to insecticides, the poisonous chemicals can quickly build up to levels that cause reproductive problems, or even death, in the bats.

White-Nose Disease Has Killed A Million Bats So Far: —And There’s No Cure On The Horizon

NJ Bat Population Continues To Collapse

Little Brown Bat

Last spring, in studies about White-Nose Syndrome in New Jersey, it was reported that the fungus has killed off about 90 percent of the state's bat population.

The devastation hit the largest hibernation spot for bats in New Jersey which is Morris County's Hibernia Mine.

Normally, as many as 30,000 bats would winter there, but the 2010 count found only about 1,700 alive. To make matters worse, many of those showed signs of infection, according to the state's Endangered and Non-game Species Program.

Despite their undeserved bad reputation, bats are crucial to ecosystems. They have a positive effect - especially for humans - through devouring insects, dispersing seeds, and pollinating flowers. The widespread loss of bats has potential ramifications for human health since the huge quantities of bugs hey consume includes ones that not only damage crops but also carry West Nile and other potentially fatal diseases.

Some scientists think humans who visit caves may inadvertently spread the fungus from cave to cave. To try and halt the spread, government agencies across the country have been closing access to caves and abandoned mines.

But there are massive die-offs in the U.S. due to the fungus that is commonly called "white-nose syndrome" because of the whitish powder that appears on the nose, ears and wing membrane of infected bats.

Geomyces destructans is a filamentous fungus of unknown origin and seems to be new to North America.

It was documented but not yet recognized as Geomyces destructans in 2006 at Howes Cave, New York. In 2007, people began to report that little brown bats were flying outside nearby caves during daylight in the midst of winter - something that should not be happening.

Little brown bats are smaller than a human thumb, and dependent on its two grams of stored fat to keep it alive through the cold season. Without hibernation, it will not survive and it being awakened even once can cost it a month's worth of fat. That is why NJ's bat hibernation locations are protected.

The little brown bat population is continuing to decline, with the numbers down 50% from last summer and 80% from 2008, according to the results of New Jersey's annual summer bat count.

Six species have the disease, one of which had been declared endangered long before white-nose syndrome. That is the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Three others are at very high risk.

In New Jersey, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation has teamed with owners of 15 forest areas in the northwestern part of the state to create more habitat for bats.

The endangered Indiana bat roosts in summer under the loose bark of dead trees and switches those roosts every few days. Since dead and dying trees are often cut down, CWF works with landowners to girdle some trees to kill them so they provide more roost sites, or even to attach cedar shakes and other items to tree trunks to create roost spots.

Endangered Indiana Bat

Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee

The Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee was established in 1974 under the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act (N.J.S.A. 23:2A-7e).
It is a committee is appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection that serves as an advisory body to that office in matters of New Jersey endangered and nongame wildlife resource.

The original group consisted of five citizens with professional interest in nongame wildlife. Now, the committee consists of 11 members from four broad public affiliations.  Four members come from the research and academic community, one is a veterinarian or public health professional, three represent nonprofit organizations with strong interest in nongame wildlife, and three are appointed from the public-at-large

The Endangered and Nongame Species Program staff present Program research agenda, policies, and controversial topics to the Committee for advice on appropriate handling. The Committee formally recommends status listing changes to the State nongame wildlife list biennially. In addition, Committee members often open and pursue issues of importance and recommend action to the Program and Division.

The viewpoint of the committee members based on their personal experience and interest is of great value to the Program, Division and Department. The Committee's formal recommendations become an integral part of the State's development of policy and making of decisions, however, the role is advisory only.

There is no legal obligation for the Department to adopt the Committee's recommendations. An excellent working relationship between the Program, Division, Department and the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee has developed over the years, and policies often reflect the ideas generated at committee meetings.

Taking a look at their meeting agenda, you'll find many of the topics that I write about here such as the "Northern Pine Snake Delisting Petition" and "Bog Turtle Research" as well as topics that are baffling - "Central Jersey Railroad Expansion" and "Trap-Neuter-Return."

Their posted minutes from meetings are far more detailed and interesting to the average citizen. Here are 2 items from their last meeting.

A banded and emaciated bald eagle found in Maine has been identified as having fledged from NJ. The bird is currently undergoing rehabilitation. This is the first time a NJ eagle has been found this far north.

Updating about White Nose Syndrome in bats, Mick Valent, Principal Zoologist, provided additional information on WNS. The sampling of bats is showing little evidence of scaring and de-pigmentation of the wing membrane. There are two possible explanations for this. First, bats that were sampled were from unaffected hibernacula and therefore didn't have any signs of scarring or de-pigmentation. The second is that bats from affected sites that had significant fungal infection (those that would have exhibited significant scarring and tissue de-pigmentation) were not surviving into the summer months.

Some bats that emerge from affected sites can survive and they appear to heal and experience normal weight-gain during the active months. The captured bats all appeared healthy based on weights and visible condition. In addition, the capture ratio of adults to juveniles suggested that the colonies sampled experienced successful reproduction this year.

The Mount Hope mine normally hosts about 10,000 bats and is known to have suffered a major impact. The NWHC has requested samples from impacted hibernacula. Two nights of collecting samples at the mine resulted in the capture of just 35 bats, including 31 Indiana bats, 3 northern long eared bats and 1 little brown bat.

The population at Picatinny Arsenal has also suffered an extremely hard impact and NYDEC staff are reporting the apparent elimination of entire bat populations in caves that previously hosted thousands of bats. Researchers have identified a compound that has proven to be effective in controlling fungal growth in the lab and is preparing to conduct a field test.

Counting Bats

brown bats hibernating

Since 2003, the Summer Bat Count project has enlisted volunteers across NJ to monitor bat populations at known summer roost sites, including attics, barns, bat houses, churches, and other structures.

This volunteer project was created by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation and the state's Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) to gain a better understanding of how NJ's bats are distributed across the state, what conditions they select for roosting, and how populations may be changing over time.

Since White-nose Syndrome (WNS) hit NJ in January 2009, information from the Summer Bat Count is more critical than ever, helping biologists to measure the impact of this devastating killer.

Read the full 2009 bat summary.

Judge Halts WV Wind Farm Over Bats

"A federal judge’s ruling that stopped construction of a West Virginia wind farm to protect an endangered bat underscores the growing conflicts between green energy and imperiled wildlife.

But the case, thought to be the first of its kind involving a wind energy project, seems unlikely to derail other projects, as some wind energy advocates have feared, unless the operators ignore endangered species laws.."

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/judge-halts-wind-farm-over-bats/

Funding for White Nose Syndrome Research

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) has announced that funding to protect bat populations in New Jersey and throughout the region has been increased from $500,000 to $1.9 million for FY 2010. The senator successfully fought to increase the funding for research into a mysterious and deadly illness called White Nose Syndrome (WNS) that is destroying bat populations in New Jersey and the Northeast Region. The legislation will now head to the White House where it is expected to be signed into law.

WNS is named for white fungal growth around the noses and on the bodies of affected animals. It first appeared in caves near Albany, New York in February 2006 and was confirmed in New Jersey in 2009. Over the last two winters, more than one million hibernating bats have died.

Map illustrating the ranges of endangered species of hibernating bats in the U.S.
and the spreading distribution of White-nose syndrome. www.fort.usgs.gov

On July 8 Lautenberg, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, highlighted the threat of WNS on bat populations during a Senate hearing that he called for to examine threats to native wildlife species.

Bats play a critical role in North American ecosystems. They prey almost exclusively on insects such as mosquitoes, which spread disease, and moths and beetles, which damage crops. A single bat can easily eat more than 3,000 insects a night and an entire colony will consume hundreds of millions. Bats reduce the need for pesticides, which cost farmers billions of dollars every year and can be harmful to human health.

• News release on Senator Lautenberg's website at http://lautenberg.senate.gov

Lawsuit Claims Wind Energy Project Would Kill Endangered Bats

Indiana bat roosting under shedding bark
Photo: Bat Conservation International via www.srs.fs.usda.gov

Organizations opposed to a wind energy project in West Virginia are using the Endangered Species Act to try to block the wind farms.

The claim is that endangered Indiana bats, and other bat species, are threatened by the wind-turbine towers. Bats can be killed by wind turbines when they are struck by spinning blades or get caught in the turbines' downdraft, which causes their lungs to rupture.

Plaintiff's witness Michael Gannon, a bat biologist and professor at Pennsylvania State University, said he is "very much in favor" of wind energy, but remains concerned that this project could have a devastating effect on the Indiana bat.

He also testified that when swaths of forest were clear cut to make way for turbines this past summer, important bat habitat may have been removed. (Indiana bats roost under the bark of dead trees.)

The companies involved in building the wind farm countered by saying there is no proof of the bat's presence in the area based on two mist net surveys in the area which found none of the endangered Indiana bats.

Testifying for the plaintiffs, Gannon argued these mist net surveys were poorly done, and that his own acoustic detection surveys in the area (recording bat sounds and identifying them through a computer program) did identify three Indiana bats.

Similar stories are published about the effects that these wind towers and even their warning lights might be having on the migration of birds.

It is another example of the line between what benefits people living in an area and what benefits the wildlife there, and the difficulty in finding the proper balance.

Bat Conservation International, for example, supports the development of alternative energy sources but also recognizes concerns on what the cumulative impacts of wind energy development might be on wildlife. This is especially if expansion occurs without careful planning to minimize harm to birds and bats.

Here's what they say on their site:

We believe that minimizing harmful impacts to wildlife is an essential element of “green energy” and that developers of wind energy must substantially increase efforts to improve siting and develop and test methods to reduce harm to wildlife. Additionally, state and federal agencies must increase support for responsible development of wind energy in a manner compatible with protecting wildlife resources. Cooperation, including access to study sites, funding, and transparency of information obtained, are fundamental elements needed to successfully resolve wind and wildlife conflicts. Response from industry has been mixed and while we applaud those companies and organizations working proactively with resource agency specialists and scientists to solve problems, more has to be done immediately to expand and improve the breadth of our cooperation in developing a sound, scientific basis for decision-making. This is especially true in Texas, which leads the nation in installed wind energy capacity, but woefully trails most states in regard to proactively addressing wildlife impacts.

• Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative
• Western Bat Working Group
• more about the case above at Southern Maryland Online
• Infrared videos of bats and turbines
• Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
• NWCC Wildlife Working Group
• Existing State Siting Guidelines
• USFWS Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee