Bats protect rice farm : A quarter of a million bats may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about pest control on a rice farm. But near Sacramento, that's exactly what happens every summer night.
As the sun sets over the Yolo Causeway, around 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from beneath the bridge and fan out across the surrounding area in search of insects. While the nightly flyout has become a popular attraction for visitors, the bats also help protect nearby rice fields by feeding on armyworms, crop-damaging caterpillars that later become moths, as per a report.
According to Charlie Russell, a longtime volunteer with the Yolo Basin Foundation, the colony has a symbiotic relationship with the region's rice farmers. Russell said, “This is the only place [a farmer] never applies any insecticides to control the armyworm, because he’s got a quarter of a million bats taking care of the moths. They’re incredibly important to our environment,” as quoted by KQED.
Hundreds of thousands of bats take flight every evening
The bats living beneath the Yolo Causeway make up one of the largest urban colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats in the United States.
Their home is in the Yolo Bypass, an area that serves as both flood control for Sacramento and farmland for rice crops. Each evening, the bats leave the bridge and feed on insects over the surrounding landscape.
Summer turns the bridge into a nursery
From June through August, visitors gather to watch thousands of bats stream into the evening sky in a spectacle locals call a "bat-nado."
During this period, the colony is made up almost entirely of mothers and their pups, according to Corky Quirk, program coordinator for the Yolo Basin Foundation, as per the KQED report. Female bats give birth in early summer and stay with their young for about two months until the pups are strong enough to fly.
Quirk, who has led the bat tours since 2004, encourages visitors to enjoy the experience without disturbing the bats resting beneath the bridge, saying, “We have a little sign this year; it says, ‘Sleeping bats above, please stay out,'” as quoted by KQED.
Small animals with a big impact
Although each bat is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, they are built for speed. Mexican free-tailed bats are the world's fastest mammals and have been recorded flying at speeds of up to 98 miles per hour, according to the KQED report.
They feed on soft-bodied insects such as moths and mosquitoes. While they now live beneath bridges, Russell said the species would normally be found in caves or rock crevices.
Changing the way people think about bats
Quirk said bats often have an undeserved reputation because of the way they are portrayed in movies and popular culture. She noted that bat populations across California are declining because of habitat loss, pesticides and predation.
She hopes visitors leave with a greater appreciation for the animals and the role they play in the environment.
Quirk said, “Bats are pretty misunderstood, and often when people learn more about them, they begin to appreciate them. And we protect what we care about,” as quoted by KQED.
For visitors, the evening flyout is an unforgettable sight. For the surrounding rice-growing region, it is also a reminder of the role the bats play in controlling crop-damaging insects as they head out to feed each night.
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