About 6 PM the bats emerge, flitting
over the creek, snapping up flies, moths, and countless other flying
insects. They roost on the ceilings of caves like this, as well as
smaller crevices and cracks in rocks, logs, and trees, which occur in abundance throughout the
rocky wilderness of Aravaipa Canyon. As many as seventeen species of
bats may be found in the Aravaipa area. I'm pretty sure I saw some of
our smallest bats, mouse-eared bats in the genus
Myotis. Three inches
of terror to an insect. |