Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
For the little brown bat—a small mouse-eared bat with glossy brown fur—a warm, dry place to roost is essential to the species' survival. Reproductive females huddle their small furry bodies together to save thermal energy during maternity season (summer), forming "maternity colonies." In the face of severe population losses across North America, summer access to an attic or other permanent sheltered structure, as opposed to just trees or rock crevices, is a huge benefit to these bats.
In a new study published in the Ecological Society of America's journal Ecosphere, researchers with Ohio University, University of Kentucky, and the US National Park Service investigate and describe the conservation importance of buildings relative to natural, alternative roosts for little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone's iconic high-elevation landscape provides abundant natural roosting places but not many buildings. The study involved four visitor areas with several buildings that are known to host bold little brown bats, which are among the few bat species that will make their homes in structures that are actively used by people, allowing humans to get up close and personal. Sometimes, the investigation even involved researchers capturing them by hand.
[...]Over the summers of 2012-2015, researchers tracked individual bats in the park. Using temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters, the researchers measured roost preferences and body temperature regulation in adult male and female bats roosting in buildings, trees, and rocks.
Their results show that reproductive females roost in attics in the study area on 84% of all days for which they collected data, while males roost exclusively in rock crevices or trees. It appears then that outside of maternity colonies, adult males and non-reproductive females will roost by themselves or in small aggregations.
More information: Joseph S. Johnson et al, Buildings provide vital habitat for little brown myotis ( Myotis lucifugus ) in a highâelevation landscape, Ecosphere (2019). DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2925
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 21 2019, @05:29PM (5 children)
I kinda like the little furry things. To my knowledge, I have killed exactly two in my life. Found one lodged in the grill of a pickup truck, and whacked another on a motorcycle. I didn't feel bad-really-bad, but I wasn't happy to have killed them. I enjoy watching the little guys munching down on annoying insects.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Immerman on Thursday November 21 2019, @07:50PM
I agree - they're kind of cute in a fuzzy rodent sort of way, mostly harmless to humans (unless rabid - but rabies kills them very quickly, so just stay away from ill/injured bats), and just about everything they eat are things that annoy me (including those far-more-dangerous mosquitoes)
A fun display I discovered by accident - if you mount a board or something on a street-/yard-light so that you can't see the bulb (I didn't want it shining right in the windows) , you end up with a glowing cloud of insects at night with a dark spot in the center - and can get a great view of the brightly-lit bats swooping through the cloud as they chow down.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Webweasel on Friday November 22 2019, @12:56PM
My last house was pretty rural. In the autumn, the bats would fly at head height in front of my door looking for insects at dusk.
You can hear them! Their chirps are not so ultrasonic as to not be heard by the human ear. They click.
And they move like jet fighters. Watching them silhouetted against the sun was pretty amazing.
Priyom.org Number stations, Russian Military radio. "You are a bad, bad man. Do you have any other virtues?"-Runaway1956
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday November 22 2019, @03:33PM (2 children)
I don't want bats in the attic. Could we build bat sanctuary cities instead?
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 23 2019, @03:00AM (1 child)
I don't know about that - won't the homeless start catching and eating the bats?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday November 25 2019, @02:26PM
Maybe the bats would start catching and eating the homeless?
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @05:40PM (2 children)
Why might it be "necessary for conservation"?
Are there less bats now?
Is Yellowstone being developed and they are running out of roosts?
Is the climate cooling in the US causing natural roosts to not provide enough protection from the cold?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @07:36PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-nose_syndrome [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 22 2019, @04:06AM
And what did all the mama bats do before attics were invented?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Arik on Thursday November 21 2019, @05:41PM (8 children)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday November 21 2019, @06:13PM (5 children)
They definitely help with the mosquito population, but I kinda doubt they munch on very many yellow jackets. I've never seen a bat attack a yellow jacket nest. Yellow jackets will be chilling on their nest at night instead of flying, unlike mosquitoes.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Arik on Thursday November 21 2019, @06:17PM (4 children)
And the downside is guano. Ever been inside an attic that's hosted bats for a few years?
Guano everywhere. Valuable resource, when you have tons and tons of it, but just a nasty mess and a pain to clean, when it's a few pounds spread all over the attic.
How about a bathouse? Something with a removable floor for easy cleaning/recovery of the guano.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday November 21 2019, @06:20PM
That seems to be a much better idea, than just let them chill in your attic.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Thursday November 21 2019, @07:54PM (2 children)
Typically bat-houses don't even have a floor, the open bottom serves as the entrance as well. You'll get guano beneath it, but you need a big colony before it accumulates faster than rain can wash it away.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Arik on Thursday November 21 2019, @08:14PM (1 child)
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday November 23 2019, @01:20AM
I wonder if you might overdose your plants? I think there's a limit to how much guano a plant can take at once.
Might be an excellent place for a compost pile though.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday November 21 2019, @06:17PM (1 child)
Interestingly enough, Skunks do dig up yellow jacket nests and eat them. Skunk vs. Yellow Jackets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PV5pJCl-3s [youtube.com]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @11:33PM
Skunk vs Yellowjackets... I think we have a new superhero movie franchise!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 21 2019, @06:34PM (1 child)
So, all these years that all of those people accusing me of having bats in my belfry, they were actually complimenting me on my conservation efforts? How nice of them! ;-)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 22 2019, @10:37AM
I am the Batman.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday November 22 2019, @12:23AM
I think the potential for bat/human interaction is considered a serious problem by the National Park Service (mostly for the potential for passing on disease rather than the usual problems of human contact such as crowding the animal and getting people food) so they've been working on removing bats from buildings. I wonder if this study will hasten that process or delay it. If bats are so highly dependent on human buildings, it might be impossible to remove them from the buildings without removing most of them from Yellowstone!
(Score: 2) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Friday November 22 2019, @01:47PM (1 child)
'It is of vital importance to the survival of life on planet earth that you allow and encourage bats having sexual intercourse in your home.
The attic is the place most people prefer for their bat-sex area but you are welcome to be creative and as permissive as you like.'
Print a few million of these, leave them rolled up on everyone's door handle, problem solved.
2019 keeps looking like it can't get wierder, but then it does.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday November 23 2019, @01:31AM
You must have read a different article.
Your house is a maternity spa, not a singles club.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Saturday November 23 2019, @10:57PM
If you think bats in attics are a problem, wait till you see bots in the basement.
Account abandoned.