Bats are expert nighttime hunters, built for fast aerial feeding as they sweep through swarms of small flying insects. Under the right conditions, a single insect-eating bat can consume large numbers of mosquito-sized insects in a short time, which is why bats are often described as a powerful form of natural pest control. Diet studies have added important nuance to this picture. Research analyzing bat diets—including a 2018 study published in the Journal of Mammalogy—shows that mosquitoes appea