Celebratig the virtue of bats

My new work is about bringing awareness of the importance of bats.  We are loosing large quantities of these exceptional creatures to white-nose Syndrome.  This is a huge crisis.  Many think of bats just as scary creatures, but we benefit greatly from them.

They eat insects and mosquitoes (helping to control viruses spread by the insects), and lower the need for pesticides, pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for countless trees and shrubs growth.

"Chinese artists have long used five bats to represent the five blessings: health, long life, prosperity, love of virtue, and a tranquil, natural death. The bats often are bright red— the color of joy."














"White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease that has killed millions of bats in North America. The disease is caused by a fungus from Eurasia, which was accidentally transported here by humans. The fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, invades the skin of hibernating bats and disrupts both their hydration and hibernation cycles.

WNS has killed at least 5.7 million bats since it arrived in North American in 2006. Some winter colonies have seen 100% fatality. " 

http://www.batcon.org/our-work/regions/usa-canada/address-serious-threats/wns-intro