Could BATS and BEES have Morgellons?????
batWhite_Spots.jpg
What is white-nose syndrome?
First documented in New York in the winter of 2006-07, white-nose syndrome refers to a white fungus on the noses of many affected bats. The fungus may be a symptom and not the cause of the mortality observed to date. Bats affected with WNS do not always have the fungus, but may display abnormal
behaviors (see below). It is unclear at this point if or how WNS is transmitted.
WNS may be associated with some or all of the following observations:
1. bats with white fungus, especially on the nose, but also on the wings, ears and/or tail;
2. bats flying outside during the day in the winter in New York, Vermont, Masschusetts, Connecticut, New
Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. For states farther south, bats flying outside during the day in
temperatures at or below freezing;
3. bats clustered near the entrance of the hibernaculum or in areas not normally identified as winter roost
sites; and/or
4. dead or dying bats on the ground or on buildings, trees or other structures.
WNS is not the only cause of white fungus on hibernating bats. If you see a bat with a white fungus, but you are not in a known affected area and none of the other signs of WNS are observed, then it may not be WNS.
On 7 Feb 2009 the US Fish and Wildlife Service warned the public to
keep out of caves and mines in New York and Vermont because humans
might be inadvertently spreading the unknown pathogen. The National
Speleological Society has closed all caves it owns in New York and
Pennsylvania, and other caving organizations have urged people to
avoid places where bats may hibernate in the Northeast.
Although the spelunker above makes good points, the disease has so
little known about it, that all precautions, including staying out of
caves is critical to bat survival.
Bats have an ecological effect worldwide. Although the species in the
Northeastern US are not the species that pollinate some plants, the
possible impact and spread to those species is quite great.
The white-nose syndrome (WNS) is as much a mystery as the colony
collapse disorder that has affected the bees. The consequences of
loss of the creatures may be more far reaching than we recognize.
One of the consequences of WNS is the issue of species becoming
extinct. At least 4 endangered species are currently affected. Some
of these species, like the Indiana bat (_Myotis sodalis_), are
seriously affected, with mortality reaching as high as 97 percent in
some caves. Other species, the little brown bats ( _Myotis
lucifugus_), the Eastern pipistrelle (_Pipistrellus subflavus _), and
the northern long-eared bats (_Myotis septentrionalis_) have suffered
with large number of deaths as have the small-footed bats (_Myotis leibii_).