Greetings, guys, gals, and non-binary pals!
If you are at all like me, you’ve wondered a time or two why bats, pumpkins, and the like have become associated with Halloween, Samhain, All Hallows Eve, or otherwise associated with the season. This is not going to be an exhaustive description, so feel free to share further lore in the comments, but it will cover a wide range, but today we will be discussing our beflighted mammal friends.
Firstly, bats often roost in vast colonies, sometimes hundreds to thousands of animals strong and isolated from humans when possible. It is important to remember that they are not in ‘human spaces’. Instead, we are the interlopers in theirs. It isn’t difficult to imagine or remember the rush of adrenaline upon seeing darting shapes or hearing high-pitched calls in the dark. Regardless of the context, darkness is sometimes unnerving on its own. More often than not, this is connected to the anticipation of potential horrors contained therein.
It is unsurprising that this association between night-dwelling species and a visceral response exists. As stated above, darkness and those who operate within it are often the source of both intrigue and wariness. Though the ultimate origins of the bat’s association with spirits and the like are unknown, it is likely the connection goes back to at least ancient Britain and the Celts’ Samhain (Sow-An) bonfires. Traditionally, a festival day goes from sundown to sundown, at least for the dark of the year. This is not unique to either ancient Celtic, or even modern pagan traditions. Many cultures utilize the liminality of the day’s transition periods of dawn and dusk in ritual and various aspects of spirituality.
In this case the celebratory, protective bonfires were and are essentially acting as giant candles or lanterns. Beacons shining into the oncoming darkness. At a time of day when insects are highly active. I would wager, most of us are aware of how prevalently flying insects are attracted to light sources. Now, if there is a plentiful food source in a region, it is only a matter of time before predator species appear too. Indeed, it is thought that when bats appeared in the middle of Samhain festivities, “the dark, shadowy and fast moving shapes flying through the semi-darkness may have appeared to the Celtics as the embodied spirits of the returning the dead, and the symbol of the bat became forever embedded in the roots of Halloween lore” (1).
Though there was an erroneous supposition for centuries that these hunters either fed on humans or were the animal forms of vampires, the vast majority of bat species feed on insects, fruit, or pollen. Indeed, there are only three species of vampire, or leaf-nosed bats (Desmodontinae), that feed solely on blood, including the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) (3), the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata) (2), and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi) (4). These three live in varied locales throughout Central and South America. Instead, insectivorous species can eat over 1,000 individual insects in a single night, significantly decreasing populations of everything from flies and moths to those known to harbor diseases, like mosquitoes. Others, like flying foxes (genus Pteropus), have fruit-based diets and are known for dispersing seeds or pollinating night-blooming flowers.
That being said, while they are highly beneficial, bats are still very much wild animals known to harbor potential diseases. They are beautiful, dynamic beings but exercise caution if you encounter them in the wild. Like the vast majority of wildlife, bats tend to avoid humans when possible. However, as mentioned above, wild spaces and human spaces have become so intertwined that a bat species’ natural range is likely to coincide with human dwellings, thus heightening potential conflict. They are admirable, but do so from a respectable distance.
Sidenote for a later post: apparently vampire bats naturally social distance from others in their roost when they’re feeling ill (5). The idea that bats are more intelligent and logical than some humans is quite frankly… expected from how 2020’s gone thus far. Still aggravating though.
Be like the vampire bats and keep social distancing, friends. We’re not out of the woods yet.
Let me know in the comments if you have any interesting bat-related stories, articles, or other info you’d like to share. They have long been one of my favorite animals and as mentioned previously are highly beneficial, so also let me know if you’d like to see more discussion about them. There will be future posts, it’s just a matter of priority and emphasis.
Have a fabulous day and if you should see some of our flighted mammal friends, remember they are just doing their thing, catching a snack, and leave them be. I for one am glad we have local bat populations. The mosquitoes are bad enough as it is some evenings.
Sources:
Anthony Altorenna: “Bats in Halloween Folklore and in the History of Halloween,” Holidappy.com. Sept 3, 2019.
Ito, Fernanda; Bernard, Enrico; Torres, Rodrigo A. (2016-11-22). "What is for Dinner? First Report of Human Blood in the Diet of the Hairy-Legged Vampire Bat Diphylla ecaudata". Acta Chiropterologica. 18 (2): 509–515. doi:10.3161/15081109ACC2016.18.2.017. ISSN 1508-1109. S2CID 88845021.
Greenhall, A.M.; Joermann, G.; Schmidt, U. (1983). "Desmodus rotundus" (PDF). Mammalian Species. 202 (202): 1–6. doi:10.2307/3503895. JSTOR 3503895.
Jentink, FA (1893). "Notes from the Leyden Museum: on a collection of bats from West-Indies". 15. E.J. Brill.: 282. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
Emily Caldwell via Ohio State University [content edited] (Oct. 27, 2020). “For vampire bats, social distancing while sick comes naturally.” Accessed Nov. 5, 2020.