Bats: The Dark-Winged Crusaders

Learn about one of nature's unsung superheroes, their amazing contributions to our ecosystems, and how saving bats means saving a lot more than you might think.

Many people find bats to be scary, but a world without bats is much scarier. This title from our Nature's (Secret) Superheroes series delves into the powerful effect bats have on their environment. From controlling insect populations to preventing the spread of diseases, learn how these underappreciated and often misunderstood environmental superheroes work to keep their ecosystems going strong. Did you know:

• One bat can eat thousands of insects in a single night!
• Bats provide pest-killing services worth more than $23 billion a year
• Bats are more closely related to humans than they are to rodents
• Vampire bat saliva has been used to develop medicines that prevent strokes

The Nature's (Secret) Superheroes series--covering bats, native bees, beavers, elephants, freshwater mussels, and vultures--follows a fun superhero theme, featuring each animal's origin story, how it saves the day, and its nemeses. Each book also includes activities that allow readers to gain hands-on knowledge about these animals.