what do bats eat?

What Do Bats Eat?

	INSECTS - aerial hawkers	The majority of insectivorous bats hunt their prey by chasing it down while flying. These insects are detected by the bats echolocation. When using a bat detector a sound called a feeding buzz can be heard as a bat homes in on an insect. This buzz sounds like a zip being done.
	INSECTS - ground feeders	Some insect eating bats can land on the ground and chase insects that live in leaf litter or similar places. One of these bats called the Pallid Bat, from USA, loves to eat scorpions and large centipedes. These bats seem to be immune to the stings of scorpions and the poisonous bits of big centipedes. Pallid Bats always have scars on their wing membranes from bites and stings.
	NECTAR	Not only butterflies and bees drink nectar from flowers. The Australian Southern Blossom Bat, the smallest fruit bat at only 3 inches, comes to flowers, at night, to drink nectar. The plants that bats come to, only release their nectar at night along with a strong scent for them to home in on. Nectar feeding bats have very long tongues to enable them to get something to eat from nectarines deep inside flowers.
	POLLEN	This group of bats is very important for pollinating many of the exotic fruits we eat. Mangoes and bananas are two of the better-known fruits. Pollen bats have tongues that are adapted to feeding on pollen by having 'brushes' to collect the grains.
	FRUIT	Fruit bats help in the re-growth of rainforests where slash and burn farming takes place. These bats deposit large amounts of seeds in their droppings as they fly to and from trees that have ripe fruit. At one time fruit farmers thought that fruit bats only ate ripe fruit but recent studies have shown that they eat more over ripe fruit.
	FROGS	Frog-eating bats hang from branches that overhang ponds and slow running streams. They listen for frogs croaking and home in on them. These bats can even distinguish edible frogs from poisonous ones.
	FISH	Fisherman bats fly low over rivers and ponds 'looking' for ripples on the surface that indicate something is just below the surface. As they get close to the food item the drop their feet into the water and trawl for the fish. Fisherman Bats have adapted to this method of feeding by having very big feet, long toes and sharp toe nails
	RODENTS	Mammals like mice and small rats are the favorite food for some bats. These bats have evolved to be very agile on the ground and can run after their prey
	BATS/BIRDS	Some bats eat other bats by catching them as they fly around doing their own thing.
	BLOOD	Probably the most famous bat in the world is the Vampire which lives in Central and South America. There are 3 species of Vampire, the Common, the Hairy legged and the White-winged. The latter two specialise in feeding on the blood of exotic birds but sometimes they are attracted to farmyard birds. The Common Vampire feeds mainly on mammal blood and due to deforestation they are coming into close contact with people. Vampires are the most agile bat while on the ground. They are able to jump forwards and backwards quickly and find it very easy to fly from the ground.