All this recent hype about Texas bats eating harmful insects may be misleading, quite possibly intentionally, because it comes from either professional chiropterphiles or people seeking grants.
It is not how many agricultural pests the bats eat that matters, it's how many they miss. There are lots of insects, and the fact that there seem to be plenty for the bats to eat year after year implies that there are plenty left to reproduce. And it's likely that the crop damage is done by the larvae (caterpillars), not the flying ones. And cutting the number of some pest in half does not mean that only half as much pesticticide is used, obviously. To significantly reduce the need for pesticide, the number must be reduced to nearly zero. And then of course the bats probably eat some insects that are not harmful. Somewhere there's probably a National Entomological Society that is eager to point out that most insects are beneficial.... --cynical Bill Mixon To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to mailto:[email protected] with the following message--unsubscribe cavetex. For help and information go to www.cavetex.net. List administrator: mailto:[email protected]
