Several wild creatures — bats, owls, snakes, spiders, ravens, crows — get some undeserved bad press at Halloween because of their links to the spookiest day of the year. But these animals aren’t as scary as you might think: They actually provide many beneficial services and deserve our respect.
Here’s a brief look.
• Bats have been Halloween symbols for centuries, perhaps, in part, because they emerge at sunset and fly all night. As such, bats evoked death because nighttime is the realm of the dead. Bats also were associated with blood-sucking vampires, whose frightful symbols seem everywhere at Halloween.
Georgia’s 16 bat species, however, are far from frightening. Bats play valuable roles by gobbling up tons of insect pests, pollinating crops and dispersing seeds. A study shows that bats eat enough pests to save more than $1 billion in crop damage and pesticide costs in the U.S. corn industry alone.
Bats, though, are facing their own scary situation: A disease, white-nose syndrome, has killed millions of bats across North America.
• Owls, like bats, also hunt at night, which may be why they, too, are omens of bad luck at Halloween. As real-life predators, however, Georgia’s four native owl species are valuable in controlling mice and other pesky rodents.
• Snakes and spiders for many people are downright scary and creepy at any time but especially so at Halloween. Spiders, however, serve a significant role in keeping populations of many insect pests in check — often being the most important biological pest control in homes, yards and gardens. Snakes help maintain healthy ecosystems by keeping populations of mice, rats and other creatures in balance.
• Ravens and crows are solid black, which makes them ideal Halloween figures favored by witches. In the real world, the birds may be nuisances and sometimes pests when they pull seeds and crop seedlings from the ground. However, their ecological benefits far outweigh their downsides: One crow family, for instance, can eat 40,000 grubs, caterpillars, army worms and other pests in one nesting season.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be first quarter Monday night. Mars is in the east and Saturn is in the southwest just after dark. Saturn will appear near the moon Tuesday night. Jupiter is high in the south at sunset.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
