[quickdraw]

They are now importing bats from Wisconsin and monitoring them. This could really throw off our eco-system. They eat billions of insects.

What’s killing the bats? - The Boston Globe

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

This could really throw off our eco-system.

I agree. It seems likely to be a symptom of an already-thrown-off ecosystem, as well as a cause of more disruption. The most alarming part to me is that no one seems to know the cause of the bat sickness and die-off, and I don't think anyone can anticipate all the effects.

[looking4home]

It's happening to bats, in varying degrees, all around the country. It might be something temporary they might come back from, like a virus that bat survivors will subsequently be immune to. This kind of thing does happen naturally in the animal population from time to time, almost like a correction of sorts. Maybe it would be best to do nothing about it, and see what happens.

[arctichomesteader]

I'm betting an imported disease of some sort, just like what's happened to so many of our trees over the years. But that's just a theory of mine at this point. I haven't seen hardly any bats since last year...I bet it'll throw the bug populations up...

Some animals do decline over time...muskrats are another animal declining throughout North America. It started in the South and moved North. No explanation found so far. I've cut way back on my muskrat trapping, primarily because there aren't as many muskrats as there should be. The decline isn't from hunting or trapping, no disease has been ID'd as the reason. It's possibly due to pollution slowly building up problems.

Then we have the honeybees...

[looking4home]

I heard that the bee thing was a virus, they eventually figured that out. And it wasn't honeybees, it was pollination bees or whatever they're called.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by looking4home

I heard that the bee thing was a virus, they eventually figured that out. And it wasn't honeybees, it was pollination bees or whatever they're called.

I thought it was honey bees. Here's a Wikipedia article that talks about Colony Collapse Disorder. I'd heard it was caused by a mite that spread even into wild bee populations, at least partly due to practices that could be described as the factory farming of bees. The article seems to say they still don't really know the cause.

[arctichomesteader]

I think many things are behind the honeybee problems: feeding of sugar water all through winter rather than leaving enough honey, chemicals sprayed on plants, GMO plants, the mite issue had already weakened them, overuse of medications, etc. You can't throw so much at a living thing and expect it to be healthy.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

I think many things are behind the honeybee problems: feeding of sugar water all through winter rather than leaving enough honey, chemicals sprayed on plants, GMO plants, the mite issue had already weakened them, overuse of medications, etc. You can't throw so much at a living thing and expect it to be healthy.

Was reading about the bats or lack of there in VT. Speaking of honeybees, even here in AK. this past summer did not see as many as we usually do. It was probably late August when I'd be bothered by a few on the deck but nothing like before.

[OhBeeHave]

Disease Decimating Bats in Northeastern U.S.: Scientific American

Interesting article in Scientific American about the decline in the north east bat population and white nose syndrome.

[tkln]

This whole thing is so sad. We always see bats by my house in Queens and this year I saw a total of two. I was thrilled to see them but still a far cry from what we usually see...