Tag science

Moth mufflers

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I found a very interesting article about bat prey, specifically different species of deaf moths, to write about this week. As bats use echolocation to find their prey, it is…

Sing, sing a song

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. Save Lucy’s President, Mrs. Sturges, found an interesting article that looks into the mystery of bat sounds. Scientists have found that some of the sounds that bats make resemble those of birds. Out of the 1,300 different bat species, the social vocalizations of about 50 have been studied. Of those 50, scientists discovered that about 20 of them are actually singing. It’s hard to hear bats singing if you go outside and watch them flying around. This is because a bat’s vocal range is in the ultrasonic range that is…

Can engineering match the agile flap flaps??

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I was home sick all week, so I didn’t really do much. I read an article about a new study being worked on by engineers at the University of British Columbia. The researchers are studying bat flight to help them develop better drones and other aerial vehicles. First the engineers built an aluminum bat wing and putting it in a wind tunnel. They then made a 3D computer model of the wing. They are studying how air flow affects the way a bat flies. Next, the engineers will make a…

Rain, rain–go away!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I found a really interesting article about bats. The article is all about the importance of background noises. Some people think that background noise is a nuisance. Bats, however use the noises that they hear outside of their roosts to plan their outings. A group of researchers decided to test how background sounds affected a bat’s hunting habits. The scientists selected two bat colonies, one being the common big-eared bat (Micronycteris microtis) and the other the Pallas’s mastiff bat (Molossus molossus), and simulated the sounds of heavy downpours. When the…

A delightful sac of smell!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Yesterday, a dam at an iron-ore mine in Brazil collapsed. Because of this disaster, I thought I would research a bat from Brazil. I found a very cute bat! It looks like a shrew that knows something you don’t. It’s called the Greater sac-winged bat. In addition to Brazil, these bats live in several other Central and South American countries. Their range is from central Mexico, through Central America, into South America. They live in the South American countries of Brazil, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, Guyane, and the Antillean islands. The…

My what Grinchy eyes you have!!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week! I had a fantastic week because it was the last week of school before winter break! I am going to enjoy the next two weeks by sleeping late and celebrating the holidays with my family. Since it is the Christmas season, I decided to write this week’s blog on a bat that, in my opinion, looks very similar to the Grinch. It took some looking but I found an adorable critter called the Little White-shouldered bat. These bats have leaf shaped noses that resemble the Grinch’s famous smirk. They have…