8/31/2023 0 Comments Spruce fir moss spider predators![]() ![]() As one of the most common bat species in the U.S., it’s concerning that even little brown bats need proactive conservation actions thanks to how much white-nose syndrome has decimated their colonies. populations have declined by 90% over the course of a decade due to white-nose syndrome, a fungus that grows on their skin and causes hibernation problems, dehydration, starvation, and death. The scary truth about little brown bats is that their U.S. In fact, bats help humans out big-time – little brown bats can catch up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in one hour, and they munch on crop pests that cause problems for farmers. Giving bats lots of space and staying out of their habitat reduces disease transmission, and human cases of rabies are very, very rare. While bats do host a number of viruses that can be transmitted from animals to humans, they don’t roam the skies looking for people to infect with disease – if anything, they want to keep their distance from us, but sometimes habitat loss gets in the way of that. bat species aren’t anything like Count Dracula. Infested with disease and blood-sucking with a penchant for human victims? It’s pretty batty that bats are the only mammals that can fly, but U.S. Credit: USFWS/Ann Froschauer Little brown bats are facing a frightening problem ![]() bat species, is facing the threat of white-nose syndrome. The double threats of climate change and habitat loss through logging are hurting this arachnid, too, which is why it’s been listed as endangered since 1995. An invasive insect has been killing the Fraser fir trees responsible for keeping the spider’s mossy home damp. While the spruce-fir moss spider makes spooky cobwebs for itself to attract prey, that doesn’t mean the species as a whole is thriving. Its world matches its size: This tiny spider thrives in a microclimate of moss mats on boulders kept damp by Fraser fir trees above the boulders. The spruce-fir moss spider, one of the world’s smallest tarantulas, only lives in the highest elevations of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Our diverse and unique public lands in the United States are home to special habitats and ecosystems that may not exist anywhere else in the world – which means that they’re also home to species that don’t exist elsewhere. Peeples/USFWS The spruce-fir moss spider: tiny & mighty but endangered This spruce-fir moss spider and egg sac was found on Mount Craig, the second-highest peak in the eastern U.S. ![]()
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