Can Bats Reduce Insect Damage to Agricultural Crops?
Bats consume insects that are major pests of agricultural crops. Several species that occur in Florida have been reported to play important roles in reducing crop damage in other states. A species found in Florida called the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) consumes a number of insect pests that cause damage to corn, soybean, cotton and other crops in the Midwest. Insects consumed by the big brown bat include spotted cucumber beetles and their larval form, rootworms (Diabrotica undecimpunctata); green stinkbugs (Acrosternum hilare); and leafhoppers (Draeculacephala spp). Studies have not yet been done to determine whether these bats consume the same insect pests in Florida as they do in the Midwest. Another species of bat, the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana), consumes several species of moths that are agricultural pests in Texas. They eat the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni), tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens), and corn
