## BATS HELP GROW OUR CROPS BUT CLIMATE CHANGE HAS THEM ON MOVE

rising temperatures are shifting bat migration patterns, with possible consequences for farmers
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First,let's despense with the myths. Bats aren 't blind.They won't fly into your hair. The vast majority do not carry rabies. Bats are not flying mice. Only one bat- the vampire bat-drinks blood and it is not likely to be be yours. Finally, if someone says you have bats in your belfry, it' s an insult to both you and bats.

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Bats deserve respect. We need them. They feast on insects that destroy crops and leave guano,an excellent fertiliser. Bats also pollinate plants like cocoa,banana, mango and agave.The vampire bat produces a powerful anticoagulant in its saliva that is used in a human drug to prevent strokes.Oh, and they just so happen to be the only mammals that can fly.

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Every time you eat a corn - on - the- cob, you can thank bats for their role in managing populations of the corn earworm moth,''. Even if we cannot convince you that bats are
adorable. it is hard to deny their important role in agriculture. Bats really are unsung heroes in our food production systems and it's our responsibility to understand the forces that threaten them.
Today climate change is one of those forces. it's prompting bats-like many animal species in recent years- to change their behaviour to adapt to a warming planet.Those small changes are se
nding ripples through ecosystems.

Ecosystems are a complex web of connections and it is difficult to change one component of the system without affecting the larger system. Data from the weather radar indicate that bats are migrating to Bracken Cave roughly two weeks earlier than they did, and arriving mid march rather than late march.Some of them are hanging around through winter. 9k=.jpg