Common pipistrelle bat for Bat Appreciation Month

© Mario Cea Sanchez/Minden Picture

Let’s hang out. Appreciating these little critters

Some folks are quick to dismiss bats as simply ‘scary’ (and the association with Halloween doesn’t help things). But on Bat Appreciation Month, consider their valuable contributions to the ecosystem. Bats around the world help to control bug populations (including agricultural pests), pollinate important plants and disperse seeds – helping to regenerate lands that have been overharvested or damaged. In fact, the truly scary thing is how much we’d miss bats if they were gone. The species of bat in our homepage photo is a common pipistrelle, the UK’s most common bat, which weighs roughly the same as a 20p coin and is small enough to fit inside a matchbox when its wings are folded.