Common insectivorous bats may serve as a natural solution for suppressing pests, with implications for managing apple...

Studies on pest control services provided by insectivorous bats in China are limited, leading to a lack of public awareness concerning their importance in agriculture. As the leading producer of apples in the world and the largest consumer of pesticides globally, China experiences significant environmental pollution due to the extensive use of pesticides. Identifying the role of insectivorous bats as biological control agents is crucial, especially for apple growers and plant protection workers. Therefore, to determine and utilize the pest suppression services provided by insectivorous bats, we performed DNA metabarcoding to assess their ability to suppress apple pests and analyzed the factors influencing their activity in apple orchards via passive acoustic monitoring.

Common insectivorous bats active in apple orchards (49.71%) and surrounding habitats (46.44%) predominantly consumed apple pests. They consumed all four types of apple pests, including piercing-sucking pests, leaf-feeding or flower-feeding pests, fruit-boring pests, and trunk-boring pests. At scales of 200, 300, and 400 m, bat activity was positively associated with moth abundance and vegetation coverage but negatively correlated with landscape diversity.

Our results revealed the potential of common insectivorous bats as a natural solution for suppressing apple pests, suggesting valuable implications for cultivating and managing apple orchards. With this information on bat pest suppression, this study contributes to the fields of bat ecology and agricultural pest management in China and other countries. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.