Bats are not pests
published: Friday | June 2, 2006

THE EDITOR, Sir:

REGARDING TESI Johnson's otherwise fine article on ethylene activity in the ripening of fruits, I disagree strongly with her pejorative dismissal of bats as 'pests'.

While bats may be generally considered pests by fruit farmers, they perform an incredible service by consuming tons of insects in their nocturnal food forays.

Such consumption of substantial numbers of insects, many of them truly harmful pests, is extremely beneficial to the economical well-being of farmers, and in the prevention of our environment being unbalanced by uncontrolled growth in the population of insect pests, many of which are economically and otherwise destructive.

Additionally, bats do play an important in the pollination of certain flowers necessary for the enhancement of fruit and food production.

I am, etc.,

KEITH B. LLOYD

hopewell@att.net

New York

U.S.A.

Via Go-Jamaica