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  • From: Sam White <cedarrockcsa AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Bats for cucumber beetles
  • Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:48:59 -0800 (PST)

Paul,

Can take a few years once you have a bat house up
before it is populated. Make sure you paint it a dark
color, as you live in the north.

A bat ecologist I know says to check out
http://www.batcon.org and http://www.batmanagement.com
for info and plans.

Sam

--- Tradingpost <tradingpost AT lobo.net> wrote:

>
> One of the most intriguing and surprising bits of
> information I've seen on
> this list to date. Reminds me, we've seen bats here
> in central NM in the
> evenings. Will bat houses encourage them to dine
> here more?
>
> paul tradingpost AT lobo.net
>
> Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
> --Henry David Thoreau
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>
> On 11/29/2006 at 1:04 PM Steve Diver wrote:
>
> >The basic approach is "build it and they will
> come".
> >
> >I know farmers that erect bat houses as one the
> pillars
> >of farmscaping for biological insect control.
> >
> >There might be an interesting correlation to
> >high altitude bats and high altitute cucumber
> >beetles, flying on air currents.
> >
> >Spotted cuke beetles overwinter in the South,
> >then migrate into northern states.
> >
> >One study showed that spotted cuke beetles can
> >travel 500 miles in 3 or 4 days by high-altitude
> air
> >currents.
> >
> >Same thing with corn earworms. The numbers
> >of corn earworms flying up from South Texas
> >and Mexico are astronomical.
> >
> >Many studies have showed bats feed
> >on corn earworms, etc, at high altitudes.
> >
> >If you calculate the potential larva control for
> >striped cucumber beetle, the numbers are even
> >higher.
> >
> >Spotted cuke beetles lay 200-300 eggs per
> >female and striped cuke beetles lay as many
> >as 1500 eggs per female. These are laid in
> >clusters over a period of several weeks.
> >
> >Cuke beetles are strong fliers and move from
> >field to field. So bats can also catch them at
> >lower levels, swooping around with echolocation.
> >
> >Steve Diver
> >
>
>
>
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>
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>
>




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