Why are there so many scary stories about bats?
Perhaps it’s because they’re fast, nighttime flyers making it hard to see what they’re up to. But if you can’t see them, their echolocation ability allows them to “see” you very well and avoid any contact. That is, unless you’re about the size and appearance of a bug.

 

All of the bats that live in Florida are insect eaters and are the primary predator of night-flying insects such as leafhoppers, moths, midges, winged ants, beetles and of course mosquitoes. The Harmony Bat Tower can house several thousand bats, and if each eats his normal tally of 500 to 1000 small insects, you can quickly see that the colony here may be removing well over a million a night and saving our environment from the insecticides that would otherwise be sprayed to get the same control. The Harmony tower is one of the largest bat houses in Florida. The largest in North America is at the University of Florida in Gainesville and can house over 100,000 bats. Do the insect math on that one!

 

The first bat house at Harmony was placed near the 8th fairway of the Golf Preserve and has a capacity of about 500 bats. Bats usually have a range of ½ mile or less and tend to prefer the edge of tree lines over wide open areas, meaning this colony probably has Lakeshore Park pretty well covered. Having smaller bat houses scattered throughout Harmony can provide long term insect protection as well as an exciting and inspiring addition to the evening sky.

 

Bats normally roost under loose tree bark, hanging palm fronds, and in other small spaces. This tower supplements those natural sites and provides more reliable warmth that bats enjoy. The tower originally served as the portico entrance to the Harmony Neighborhood School near the docks of Buck Lake. When the school was closed, the tower was recycled to this location as a reminder of Harmony’s educational past and a living monument to all of the wildlife that the community enjoys.