Echolocation

Although bats have fairly good eyesight, they really see with their ears. Most microbats use echolocation or sonar to navigate and find food. They send out a series of squeaks through their nose or mouth at a frequency too high for us to hear. As the sound waves hit an object they are bounced back to the bat for identification. Using echolocation, a bat can determine the size and shape of an object, how far away it is, and whether it is moving. Bats can hunt moving prey at the same time they avoid objects as fine as a thread. Bats are valuable economically and ecologically, as insect controllers, pollinators, and seed dispersers. Bats reduce the populations of many agricultural pests, including corn borers, grasshoppers, and cutworm moths. A colony of 1000 bats could consume over 4 million insects a season! They are responsible for pollinating the wild stock of many economically valuable crops such as cashews, bananas, and mangoes. Bat seed dispersal plays an important role in tropical reforestation, and it is well known that bat guano (manure) makes a great fertilizer. Bat studies have also contributed to the development of navigational aids, vaccines, and surgical procedures.