Bat Quiz
Find out more about bats! Answers at the end. Don’t peek.
1. How long can bats live?
a. 5 years
b. Up to 30 years
c. No more than 15 years
d. 10 years
2. What is the name of the syndrome that afflicts many bats these days?
a. White wing
b. Smudge nose
c. White nose
d. Black eye
3. Where does it come from?
a. Bat guano
b. Pollen from dying plants
c. Fungus
d. Mosquitoes
4. Are bats the only mammals that can fly?
a. No
b. Yes
Christine Volker, All Rights Reserved, February 21, 2016
5. How much would the loss of bats cost North America’s agriculture (2011 estimate)?
a. $950 Million a year
b. $1.5 billion a year
c. $3.7 billion a year
d. $5.2 billion a year
6. Bats comprise what percent of all mammal species in the world?
a. 25%
b. 5%
c. 10%
d. 1%
7.
Are there vampire bats in the United States?
a. Yes
b. No
8. What plants do bats NOT pollinate?
a. Banana
b. Avocados
c. Agave
d. Tomatoes
9. How many insects does a bat consume at night?
a. 100 to 200
b. 2,000 and 5,000
c. 500 to 1,000
d. 7,500 to 10,000
10. Which insects don’t bats eat?
a. Lightning bugs
b. Beetles
c. Mosquitoes
d. Moths
11. Extra Credit: How many of the below will protect/attract bats?
a. Little to no pesticides
b. Climbing vines
c. Plants that bloom at night (like purple coneflower, butterfly bush, evening primrose,
milkweeds)
d. A bat house
Christine Volker, All Rights Reserved, February 21, 2016
Answers
Thanks for taking the quiz! Bats amaze with their gift of flight, along with their ability to echolocate,
which works like sonar to find their prey. Those in northern climes hibernate. Many species of bats are
endangered. Most bats have a low rate of reproduction, giving birth to one offspring a year. Habitat
destruction, including urban sprawl, white nose syndrome (killing 5 million bats since 2006) and wind
turbines (causing delicate bat lungs to burst) threaten bats.
1) b. Up to 30 years
2) c. White nose
3) c. Fungus
4) b. Yes
5) c. $3.7 billion a year. Bats eat insects and pollinate. Fruit bats also disperse seeds, aiding certain
plant species.
6) a. 1,300 species of bats, worldwide, represent 25% of all mammal species. California has 25 species
and 16 live in the Greater Bay Area.
7) No
8) d. Bats don’t pollinate tomatoes. They are the only pollinators of the agave used for tequila (goodbye
margaritas if there are no bats).
9) b. Between 2,000 and 5,000 insects. Bats are the primary predators of night-flying insects. They eat
lots of mosquitoes. A lactating female eats her weight in insects every night. A bat can eat 1,200
mosquitoes an hour – very eco-friendly and safer than pesticides.
10) a. Lightning bugs.
11) Four. They all do. Since bats eat a lot of insects, pesticides would hurt them. Most bats in the U.S.
live together in groups, so a large bat house is always welcome. Do not handle a bat.
Scores and Corresponding Battiness
3 or Fewer Correct Answers – Bumble Bee Bat
4 -5 Correct – Fruit Bat
6 -7 Correct – Northern Long-Eared Bat
8 – 9 Correct – Flying Fox
10 - 11 Correct – Megabat
Christine Volker, All Rights Reserved, February 21, 2016