NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



regarded as being a hundred per cent, more useful 

 in an economic sense, for the reason that the insects 

 they devour are adults, every female of which is 

 capable of producing hundreds and thousands of 

 eggs which hatch out into caterpillars or some 

 other form of larvae. Therefore, every female winged 

 insect devoured by a bat is equal to as many cater- 

 pillars and other larvae which a pair of birds would 

 take several days to collect. Again, many of these 

 insects take wing prior to boring holes into trees in 

 which to deposit eggs that will hatch out into grubs. 

 Secure from the attacks of birds, these grubs tunnel 

 holes through the wood and ruin it. Or it may be 

 fruit is punctured and eggs laid inside. In due 

 time the eggs hatch and the grub works its will on 

 the fruit, away from the keen eyes of its enemies, the 

 caterpillar-eating birds. 



A glance at the teeth of a Fruit Bat will make it 

 clear that its smooth-crowned molars are specially 

 adapted for chewing up soft substances, such as fruit. 

 On the contrary, the sharp-pointed molar teeth of 

 the Insectivorous Bats are admirably adapted for 

 piercing and tearing the hard horny cases of beetles 

 and many other kinds of winged insects. 



During the daytime the swallows and other insect- 

 eating birds wage warfare upon insect pests, and the 

 moment they retire to rest, the bats take their place. 

 In this way the Creator has so accurately established 

 the balance of Nature, that insects under normal 

 conditions do not become a plague. However, 



