Written by Today we have a weirdly adorable bat that’s known as the Honduran white bat. This little guy has snow white fur and a bright yellow-orange nose to match his bright yellow-orange ears. Even for a bat, these guys are tiny, at an average length of only 1.4-1.8 inches (3.7 – 4.7 cm). Due to the triangular shape of the nose, scientists will refer to them as a “leaf-nosed” bat. Since they are so pale, they also have a thin black membrane covering their skull that acts as a sort of built-in sunscreen.
These bats live only in the lowland rainforests of eastern Honduras, northern Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica and western Panama. They build a home by cutting the sides of the heliconia plant, which then folds down to form a tent. Next, the bats hang from the roof of their newly made tent in small colonies of up to half a dozen, consisting of one male and his harem of females. Since the tent is not very strong, any predator getting too close will shake the plant and warn the group so they can quickly get the hell out of there and fly away.
Honduran white bats are not blood-suckers. They are actually vegetarians, preferring to feast only on fruit and vegetables. The white coat on these little creatures actually acts as a sort of camouflage. When the sun shines through their leaf tent, their fur appears green, making them much harder for predators to spot. Sadly, since their habitat is mainly under heliconia leaves, rainforest destruction by their human predators has placed them as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
About the Doodlewash
M. Graham watercolors: Quinacridone Gold, Pyrrol Red, Ultramarine Blue, and Neutral Tint. Lamy Safari Al Star pen with Platinum Carbon black ink in a 5″ x 8″ 140 lb. (300 gsm) Pentalic Aqua Journal
Great image! I don’t want to see one of these flying at me.
Thanks Kirk! Hehe… but they’re so tiny and cute! 😉
another vegetarian 🙂 almost cute too!
Thanks Jodi! 😃💕Hehe… they’re cuter in the images when they’re all cuddled up under the leaf.
What a cute bat! And so very unique. You did such a nice job on the fur, I can feel the softness! Who would have thought white would act as a camouflage! Very cool!
Thanks Kari! 😃💕I still get a little nervous painting white things, so glad you think it worked on this guy. I thought they were kind cute! hehe
I agree on the cuteness. Nature has evolved such interesting methods of survival…(K)
It has indeed!! Thanks so much Kerfe! 😃💕
Wow! So interesting, Charlie! I’m learning so much from you friend! 😃🎨💕
Aren’t these little guys cute? Well… for a bat at least. Lol Thanks Jill!! 💕😃
“weirdly adorable” Well, going back to our conversation in yesterday’s post: this is totally appropriate for Selfie Day, no? 😉 And these chaps are pretty cute, mainly because they’re so so tiny! Bats are charming enough as it is but tiny snowball bats get a definite yes from me. How wonderful. Your subject looks a little mischievous to me – that’s not appropriate for Selfie Day at all, now, is it? 😉
Lol… are you saying I look like a bat?! As long as you think the bat is cute, I guess that’s okay! Haha! Thanks Jacob! This could never be a selfie… mischievous?? Moi! Never! (crosses fingers behind back).
Haha! I wasn’t, but hey, that’d make you Batman. Awesome!
Yeah… it would!! Now THAT’S cool!!!
An Honduran white bat
Can you imagine that!
Instead of vamping
it goes camping
with more than one wife
living the high life
Haha! This was a fun one! Love that Judy! 😉💕
Finally, a non-scary, non-ugly creature. Great job on painting white.
Lol… just for you Teri! 😃💕It’s super hard to find both strange and non-frightening creatures. Glad you liked him!
I love bats (but you probably already guessed that 😉), and I love your doodlewash of this one!❤️ Almost no bats are blood suckers…and many eat bad bugs. 😊 It’s so sad that so many are threatened or endangered.
Thanks so much!! Oh funny…autocorrect wanted to change “so much” to “smooch”…thank too then!! Hehe 😃💕 Yeah… It’s been an interesting month, but sad to discover just how many of these creatures might not be around if humans get their way.
Thanks smooch…hahaha! That works, too. 💙 It is sad about all those endangered animals. 🙁
Beautiful drawn and painted Charlie. Interesting facts!
Thanks so much Sharon!! 😃💕Glad you liked him!
How weird! Last night I stood outside my front door and noticed a number of our normal black fruit bats flying around our native trees. Hadn’t seen them in a while…good to see them back! This little whitey sounds like a very clever little bat…love the doodle, Charlie!
Awww thanks Janina! 😃💕Yeah… I think the little white ones would be pretty cute to see flying around. We have fruit bats that come out near us, but we haven’t seen them yet!
I think you certainly couldn’t miss seeing them at night!
I am not afraid of bats mostly because they do more good then harm. I respect them. Around here they deplete the mosquito population. A tiny white bat how intriguing. I have a visual of the harem camping out under their protective leaf. Too cute. 🙂
Thanks Susan! Glad you liked this! 💕😃You should google this one… the photos of them all cuddled up are pretty charming. Never thought I’d think that about a bat either! lol
Will do. Charming might be a stretch! 🙂
Oh I love bats, never heard of this white beauty, great doodlewash, and so unusual, shame another creature has habitat issues, created by US HUMANS.
Thanks so much Rebecca! 💕😃Yeah… it’s always heart-breaking to discover these guys are often nearly endangered because of humans.
It is a cute little creature, Charlie. I haven’t heard of or seen this animal before, but it reminds me of something… only for the life of me I can’t think what!
Hehe… Thanks Tom! If you think of it, let me know! I thought it did as well!
What a great little creature with his leaf nose. I love that they build tents. They sound rather sweet. Wonderful Doodlewash Charlie!
I think they are kind of sweet, but I’ve never gotten to see one in person. Hehe Thanks so much, Cathe! 😃💕
Fun critter, but a vegetarisn? Eho knew, I learned someting today.
Thanks Rob!! Yeah….this little one is harmless and cute. How I like my bats! Lol
Terrific pic. Vegetarian bat = good.
JP
Thanks so much!! Glad ya liked this one!! 😃
A ghostly little critter, isn’t s/he?
It is really! I’m dying to know what it looks like when under the leave and appearing green! Hehe
Hmmm, might have that look of being underwater. Interesting thought.
Sooo cute! Wonderful painting, really get the sense of bat furry-ness. Delightful and charming.
Thanks!! For a bat, this little one is kind of cute I thought! 😊😃
Nice
Thanks!
¿Porque no hay peligroso?
Not these! 😉