Why Bats Are Texas’ Unsung Environmental Heroes
Earth is home to more than 1,500 species of bats, making up nearly one-fifth of all mammal species. These remarkable flyers come in all sizes—the tiny bumblebee bat of Thailand weighs less than a penny, while the massive flying fox of the Philippines boasts an impressive six-foot wingspan.
Bats of the Lone Star State
Texas is home to more bat species than any other state—at least 32! Scientists classify bats into two groups: megabats and microbats. Megabats feed primarily on fruit and nectar, while microbats mostly insect-eaters. In Texas, bats play a dual role: all consume insects, but some species—like the Mexican long-nosed and Mexican long-tongued bats—also pollinate native agave and cactus plants. Their nighttime foraging supports the growth of entire ecosystems.
Famous Fliers of Central Texas
The two most familiar bats in our region are the Mexican free-tailed bat and the tri-colored bat. Texas hosts both the world’s largest urban bat colony at Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge and the world’s largest bat colony at Bracken Cave Preserve near New Braunfels.
Mexican free-tails are very social, roosting by the thousands. It’s estimated that in dense roosts, as many as 500 pups occupy each square foot. Despite the chaos, mothers can locate their own pups by sound and scent—a remarkable feat of nature. These bats migrate to Mexico in late fall as the first cold fronts arrive, returning to Texas each spring.
Tri-colored bats, in contrast, are small, solitary creatures roughly the length of a human thumb. They prefer quiet resting spots rather than crowded colonies. At Inner Space Cavern in Georgetown, visitors can sometimes spot tri-colored bats snoozing on the cave ceiling during the day. Unlike their migratory cousins, they remain in Central Texas year-round, entering a light hibernation during cold snaps.
Nature’s Pest Control
Both species feast on insects, each bat consuming more than 600 bugs per hour during their nightly hunts. Their appetite for pests saves American farmers billions of dollars annually by reducing the need for chemical pesticides. And since mosquitoes rank high on their menu, Texans enjoy a little fewer bites at backyard barbecues, too.
How to See or Support Bats
You can invite bats to your property by installing a bat house, available at home improvement stores or through simple DIY plans online. To see them in the wild, visit one of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s bat-watching sites listed at tpwd.texas.gov
Watching thousands of bats spiral into the sunset is a Texas experience like no other. For more information, explore Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation and Bat Conservation International.
InnerSpace Cavern • One of the best preserved caves in Texas, Inner Space Cavern has hosted hundreds of thousands of visitors since 1966 and offers a variety of activities year round.
4200 S IH-35 • Georgetown • InnerSpaceCavern.com