Pity the poor bat: All it wants to do is flit around inhaling insects and reveling in its status as the only true flying mammal, yet it’s permanently encased in gothic mythology — associations with vampirism, allegations of rabies-spreading, an annual glut of bad Halloween graphics. In fact, the 20-plus species reported in Nevada do a lot of good: assisting in the pollination of desert plants, helping control insects (some species can eat half their body weight in bugs in an hour). It’s said that the pallid bat, which lives in this area, will land on the ground in order to eat a scorpion, and, lemme tell you, I endorse that behavior. (I do not endorse this headline’s use of “sky puppies” to describe bats, as you probably shouldn’t try to pet them, and they’ve demonstrated very little inclination to fetch.) Social creatures, they nest in caves, mines, trees, old buildings, culverts, attics of haunted houses, my belfry.

Pallid bat
Sciencey name: Antrozous pallidus
Measurements: Head and body average 5 inches, with a wingspan close to 18 inches; it’s the largest species in the Las Vegas area. And those ears — up to an inch long, all the better to echolocate with.
Oh, right, because they’re blind: “Contrary to myth, bats are not blind,” according to the UNR Extension website.
OK, what about rabies: “Less than ½ of 1% of bats are infected with this disease …” (same website).
One last fact: For small mammals, bats tend to be long-lived — up to 15 years — and produce only one or two offspring a year.

🦇 Note: Bat houses are a real thing; people set them up to help bats nest. Do you or anyone you know have one? Any stories to share? [email protected]