Little brown bats are one of the most common bats in Oregon and the United States. Their scientific name is Myotis lucifugus. The group of bats in the genus Myotis are called the “mouse-eared” bats.
Bats play an important role in controlling insect populations. In North America, bats are the primary predators of night-flying insects. Some species of bats can capture several hundred insects an hour, including insect species that can devastate valuable plants or crops.
A major benefit of bats in the garden is their appetite for insects. They consume about 50 to 100 percent of their body weight each day. Their favorite foods include garden pests such as beetles and moths. They also eat lots of mosquitoes, some of which carry diseases such as...
Bats represent the second most diverse group of mammals inhabiting the western slopes of the Cascade Range in southern Washington and Oregon Coast Range. Bat populations may well be sensitive to changes in forest age, structure, or distribution, but their nocturnal habits and high mobility render the study of the...