Are There Nectar Feeding Bats in Michigan?

Bats comprise one-fourth of the world's 4,000 species of mammals. Forty-three bat species are currently found in the United States. Of the 43 species of bats that live in the U.S., nine insect-eating bat species live in Michigan. All are nocturnal (active at night), and feed nearly exclusively on flying insects, including moths, beetles, and mosquitoes. None drink nectar.

Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas are home to three nectar-feeding bats (the lesser long-nosed bat, Mexican long-nosed bat and Mexican long-tongued bat) that are extremely important to the pollination and life cycle of agaves, saguaros and cacti.

For more information on the benefits of bats and how we depend on them for pest control, seed dispersal and to pollinate commercial products including bananas, avocados, dates, figs, peaches, mangoes, cloves, cashews and carob go to the Bat Conservation International (BCI) website: http://ning.it/dpjiDm.

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