Bat Week is an international celebration of bats and their importance. The Roger Gustafson Nature Center in Belvidere will hold an interactive presentation on bats on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
The center's Environmental Education Coordinator, Deanna Grelecki, says one purpose of the presentation is to dispel myths.
"There is this idea that all bats carry rabies [and that] you're going to get rabies if you interact with a bat," she said. "That's just not true. Bat populations have a very low percentage that carry rabies."
Grelecki says one bat can eat up to 3,000 insects a night.
"That’s a really important thing," she said, "especially here in Boone County, where we have a very high percentage of farms.”
Bats also help pollinate flowers and spread seeds to grow new plants and trees.
Grelecki says the presentation will include a walk at dusk, when bats start looking for all those bugs.
Bat Week runs through Halloween.
Additional resources to learn about Illinois bat populations:
Illinois Department of Natural Resources - Wild About Illinois Bats
University of Illinois Midwest Bat Hub