I studied activity and diet of bats in apple orchards in southern Michigan. There was no difference between organic and conventional orchards in number and composition of insects captured with light traps, number of bats captured with mist nets, or number of acoustic files of bat activity that were recorded. The majority of insects captured were Coleptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera. Only two species of bats were caught: big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). Most calls were produced by big brown bats, followed by hoary bats (L. cinereus), red bats, and Myotis. Coleoptera dominated the diet of big brown bats caught in orchards, followed by Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera. Analysis of the DNA of insects in feces indicated that big brown bats consumed several species that are economically important, including mosquitoes (Aedes), spotted cucumber beetles (Diabrotica undecimpunctata), and pavement ants (Tetramorium caespitum).
","abstract_html":"<p>I studied activity and diet of bats in apple orchards in southern Michigan. There was no difference between organic and conventional orchards in number and composition of insects captured with light traps, number of bats captured with mist nets, or number of acoustic files of bat activity that were recorded. The majority of insects captured were Coleptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera. Only two species of bats were caught: big brown bats (<em>Eptesicus fuscus</em>) and eastern red bats (<em>Lasiurus borealis</em>). Most calls were produced by big brown bats, followed by hoary bats (<em>L. cinereus),</em> red bats, and <em>Myotis</em>. Coleoptera dominated the diet of big brown bats caught in orchards, followed by Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera. Analysis of the DNA of insects in feces indicated that big brown bats consumed several species that are economically important, including mosquitoes (<em>Aedes</em>), spotted cucumber beetles (<em>Diabrotica undecimpunctata</em>), and pavement ants (<em>Tetramorium caespitum</em>).</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Smith, Brenna Lynn"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Allen Kurta, Committee Chair","Dr. Daniel Clemans, Committee Member","Dr. Cara Shillington, Committee Member"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z","subjects":["bats","diet","apple orchards","Southern Michigan","organic orchards","conventional orchards","Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/386","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Allen Kurta, Committee Chair","Dr. Daniel Clemans, Committee Member","Dr. Cara Shillington, Committee Member"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Smith, Brenna Lynn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-05-04T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["bats","diet","apple orchards","Southern Michigan","organic orchards","conventional orchards","Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/386"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["I studied activity and diet of bats in apple orchards in southern Michigan. There was no difference between organic and conventional orchards in number and composition of insects captured with light traps, number of bats captured with mist nets, or number of acoustic files of bat activity that were recorded. The majority of insects captured were Coleptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera. Only two species of bats were caught: big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). Most calls were produced by big brown bats, followed by hoary bats (L. cinereus), red bats, and Myotis. Coleoptera dominated the diet of big brown bats caught in orchards, followed by Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera. Analysis of the DNA of insects in feces indicated that big brown bats consumed several species that are economically important, including mosquitoes (Aedes), spotted cucumber beetles (Diabrotica undecimpunctata), and pavement ants (Tetramorium caespitum).
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Activity and diet of bats in apple orchards of southern Michigan"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Allen Kurta, Committee Chair","Dr. Daniel Clemans, Committee Member","Dr. Cara Shillington, Committee Member"],"dc:creator":["Smith, Brenna Lynn"],"dc:date.available":["2012-05-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["I studied activity and diet of bats in apple orchards in southern Michigan. There was no difference between organic and conventional orchards in number and composition of insects captured with light traps, number of bats captured with mist nets, or number of acoustic files of bat activity that were recorded. The majority of insects captured were Coleptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera. Only two species of bats were caught: big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). Most calls were produced by big brown bats, followed by hoary bats (L. cinereus), red bats, and Myotis. Coleoptera dominated the diet of big brown bats caught in orchards, followed by Diptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera. Analysis of the DNA of insects in feces indicated that big brown bats consumed several species that are economically important, including mosquitoes (Aedes), spotted cucumber beetles (Diabrotica undecimpunctata), and pavement ants (Tetramorium caespitum).
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/386"],"dc:subject":["bats","diet","apple orchards","Southern Michigan","organic orchards","conventional orchards","Biology"],"dc:title":["Activity and diet of bats in apple orchards of southern Michigan"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z"}