Bats Worth Billions to Agriculture: Pest-control Services at
Risk Pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the
United States likely save the U.S. agricultural industry at
least $3 billion a year, and yet insectivorous bats are among
the most overlooked economically important, non-domesticated
animals in North America, according to an analysis published in
a Science magazine Policy Forum*. The U.S. Geological Survey
collaborated in this research in partnership with Boston
University, the University of Tennessee, and the University of
Pretoria, South Africa. "People often ask why we should care
about bats,” said Paul Cryan, a U.S. Geological Survey research
scientist and one of the study’s authors. “This analysis
suggests that bats are saving us big bucks by gobbling up
insects that eat or damage our crops. It is obviously beneficial
that insectivorous bats are patrolling the skies at night above
our fields and forests — these bats deserve help." |Click for a
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