Something is Amiss in the Bat Cave

      You've heard of the phrase "He's got bats in his belfry."  On the eastern seaboard that phrase could become as out dated as "you sound like a broken record."  That's because the bats out there are in trouble - real trouble. 
      You might be thinking, "That's good.  I hate bats.  They creep me out.  They fly around my head and they'll get caught in my hair and bit me.  And they carry rabies." 
      Well, the truth is they fly above your head because mosquitoes, gnats, sandflies, and other blood sucking biting bugs fly above your head.  The biting bugs are there because they are attracted to the heat rising from your body, and the carbon dioxide you exhale.  When you notice a bat flying around your head, don't panic. Just stand still a moment and let him eat the bugs that want to eat you.  The bat will disperse the bugs and leave to go after them. 
      The problem they have is called White Nose Syndrome.  It started in the northeast US, and has now moved south through the caves system, and is now affecting the bats in the south east.  The entire eastern seaboard is infected.  As much as 90 to 95 percent of some species have perished because of this disease.  Some formerly common species of bats are about to go completely extinct. There is already a huge bat shortage in the region. 
      The disappearance of this many bats will have devastating effects.  For one thing, bats eat a huge amount of bugs.  Bugs spread disease.  Bugs eat crops.  It is estimated that due to a shortage of bug eating bats, there could be a loss of 22 billion dollars a year to east coast farmers. 
      The causes of White Nose Syndrome is not a bacteria or virus.  It is a white fungus.  This fungus attacks bats while they are sleeping in hibernation.  The fungus damages their wings, and gets into the bats' noses and respiratory systems.  That's not what kills them though.  The fungus disrupts their hibernation and they wake up off and on throughout the winter when there are no bugs to eat.  The bats basically starve to death. 

Bats affected by the fungus

Geomyces Destructans; the fungus responsible

      Unlike the mass deaths of honey bees, this one can't be blamed on pesticides, nor can it be blamed on Monsanto (like the pesticide resistant weeds that have accidentally been created due to unintentional genetic contamination). This one can't even be blamed on global warming, as the offending fungus doesn't do well in warmer weather (anything above 68 F).  It can thrive in temperatures as low as 39 F, the temperature of an average cave in the wintertime.  
      The Joker, Riddler, Penguin, or Catwoman might think they can hurt Batman, but they never really do.  He always wins in the end.  But White Nose Syndrome, that's his real nemesis.