Tam's Tall Tales
- Midges To Get Bitten?
Pipistrelle Bat
Midges To Get Bitten?
A bat with a taste for midges has increased in numbers in Scotland, according to a new report. Common pipistrelles have increased by about 79% since 2009, following years of decline.
A single pipistrelle can feed on up to 3,000 midges in one night, according to Scottish Natural Heritage. (Graphic of a midge via Wikimedia Commons )
Legal protection for bats, the loss of fewer roosts to development and less harmful timber treatment chemicals may have helped to boost the bats' numbers. Bats and their roosts are protected in Scotland.
SNH commissioned the report by the Bat Conservation Trust using data from the National Bat Monitoring Programme, which involves survey work by volunteers.
Anne Youngman, Bat Conservation Trust Scottish office said:
"We'd like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers taking part in this citizen science project across Scotland....their hard work and dedication allows us to produce a positive picture for the population of common pipistrelle. It's difficult to say why common pipistrelle appear to be recovering from the large historical decline. It's really important that we encourage even more volunteers to help us continue and expand our monitoring efforts so that we can see how bats are faring over the coming years. So, if you enjoy being out of doors and would like to find out more about bats then do sign up to the National Bat Monitoring programme ; it's fun , it's different and it's important."
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Tam O'Ranter
May 2014Return to Tam O'Ranter Index
