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    • Facts about Wisconsin bats to share this Halloween
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    Facts about Wisconsin bats to share this Halloween

    Sakege Posted on

    With Halloween just around the corner, spooky symbols of the holiday abound, including bats.

    It just so happens that it is too International Bat Weekwhich celebrates the role of bats in nature. Coincidence? Maybe not.

    The connection of bats to Halloween dates back to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival where large bonfires were lit to scare away evil spirits. The bats were thrown near the fire and interpreted as the spirits themselves. Then, of course, there are vampire bats, which drink blood (although rarely that of humans). Over time, these winged creatures of the night have become synonymous with the spooky season.

    Over the past decade, the hundreds of thousands of bats living in Wisconsin have faced a terrifying real-life situation: the rise of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has devastating impacts on the state’s bat population. .

    Further: How spiders, bats and black cats became Halloween’s animal ambassadors

    Now, there are small signs that those numbers may be recovering. Here’s what you need to know about Wisconsin bats and how you can help them thrive.

    What types of bats live in Wisconsin?

    There are eight species of bats in Wisconsin, divided into two groups: cave-dwelling bats and tree-dwelling bats. They all eat insects.

    Tree-dwelling bats, which in Wisconsin include silver-haired, eastern red, hoary and evening bats, migrate south during the winter, generally departing in September and October. Wisconsin cave dwellers (large and small brown bats, which are most common in the state, as well as tricolor and northern long-eared bats) spend their winters hibernating in caves or mines.

    All of these species face threats to their survival.

    Where can you find bats in Wisconsin?

    During the summer months, bats are found throughout the state. During the winter, tree-dwelling bats disappear and cave dwellers seek out places to hibernate, which differ depending on their species.

    The vast majority of the state’s little brown bats, for example, congregate at three hibernation sites, said Jennifer Redell, a conservation biologist and cave and mine specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. one is Mina Nedaa former iron mine in Dodge County, and the other two are former frac sand mines in Pierce County. The Neda Mine is one of the largest bat hibernation sites in the Midwest.

    There are up to 200 other hibernation sites, such as other mines, natural caves and railway tunnels, where small numbers of other cave bats spend the winter.

    Big brown bats are more tolerant of cold, dry conditions, Redell said, so sometimes they don’t hibernate until December, and when they do, they’re more likely to hibernate in people’s homes.

    What is white-nose syndrome and how has it affected Wisconsin bats?

    White-nose syndrome is a fungal disease that kills bats throughout North America. Named for the powdery white fungal growth on the wings and snouts of infected bats, it was first found in Wisconsin in 2014 and has had a catastrophic impact on the state’s bat population.

    Further: Disease takes ‘catastrophic’ toll on Wisconsin bats

    Little brown bats in particular have suffered the most, Redell said. Since the disease took hold in Wisconsin, the DNR is detecting 90% fewer echolocation calls from little brown bats when they are active during the summer months.

    At the two Pierce County overwintering sites, he estimated the bat population plummeted 80% after the onset of white-nose syndrome, from about 150,000 to about 30,000. (It is difficult to count bats in the Neda Mine due to the deep cracks and crevices in the mine.) Bat numbers at some of the smaller hibernation sites have dropped to zero.

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    But the numbers have seemed more reassuring in recent years. Over the past three winters, Pierce County sites have housed about 60,000 bats, Redell said, and during the summer, volunteers count increased numbers of bats leaving their summer roosts, particularly along the Mississippi rivers. and Wisconsin.

    What is the improvement due to?

    “Bats have been around for more than 50 million years,” Redell said. “They are very adaptable…we have some hope that their ability to adapt will help them in the era of white-nose syndrome.”

    There could be fewer fungi in the environment as the years go by, he suggested, or frac sand (a drying agent) is reducing fungal loads in mines when bats are not there.

    What other threats do bats face?

    Since the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome does better in warmer conditions, rising temperatures at overwintering sites due to climate change could have negative effects, Redell said.

    Bats are also experiencing habitat loss, not so much from the loss of forests and caves, he said, but from being driven out of houses, barns and other buildings. Wind turbines can also harm bats due to collisions.

    And yet, bats have a marketing problem: Some people think they’re scary and don’t want them around. This can lead to outright murders, Redell said.

    Why are bats important to people and the environment?

    Bats’ greatest help to humans may be in their diet. a single bat It can eat thousands of insects per night.ridding the air of mosquitoes and other pests.

    In 2018, a UW-Madison study that analyzed bat scat found that little brown bats in Wisconsin ate 17 different types of mosquitoes, including nine that carry West Nile virus. The same study found the DNA of 24 different agricultural pests in poop, lending validity to the estimate that bats save Wisconsin farmers. hundreds of millions of dollars a year on pesticides.

    Although not found in Wisconsin, nectar-eating bats also help pollinate crops. They are the only pollinator of the agave plant, an important ingredient in tequila..

    How can you help Wisconsin bats?

    Start by building a bat house, which provides a safe haven for bats during the summer, Redell suggested. Grow native Wisconsin plants, which in turn attract native insects that bats eat.

    If you need to “exclude” bats from a building, do so in winter, when they are not using their summer roosts. Avoid doing so during maternity season, she said, which runs from June 1 to August 15.

    Further: What you can do in your garden to help Wisconsin’s endangered species

    More generally, Redell said, people should take steps to protect access to caves and mines and stay away from them during the bats’ hibernation period, which in Wisconsin begins Oct. 1 and ends May 15. .

    “The best and most important thing anyone can do is stand up for bats… especially if someone says something derogatory or spreads misinformation,” he said.

    Where can people watch them safely?

    During the summer months, some state parks are home to significant bat colonies, Redell said, including Peninsula State Park in Door County, Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo and Yellowstone Lake State Park in Blanchardville.

    Sometimes parks offer special programs, Redell said, but you don’t have to watch them: Stay about 30 minutes after sunset and each night, bats will fly out of their “bat condos,” he said.

    To respect them, stay 15 to 20 feet away, do not use flash photography, and speak quietly or not at all.

    Madeline Heim is a Report for America staff reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River Basin and throughout Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or [email protected].

    Sakege
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