The Bumblebee Bat

Deep inside a limestone cave in Southeast Asia lives a bat so tiny it could almost sit on your fingertip.

Her name is Twinkle.

Twinkle is a bumblebee bat and tonight she’s ready for her very first big adventure outside the cave. But the night is enormous, the forest is full of strange sounds, and Twinkle soon discovers that being brave doesn’t mean you never feel scared.

As Twinkle flies through the dark, she meets glowing fireflies, a booming frog, and a silent owl … and learns that every creature has its own way of navigating the night.

Join Carie, Lincoln, and Eliza as they explore the fascinating world of the bumblebee bat, one of the smallest mammals on Earth.

Kids will discover:

• How bats use echolocation to “see with sound” in the dark
• How the bumblebee bat earned its name 
• How bats help keep insect populations under control and why protecting dark skies helps bats survive

Keep exploring:

• Download a bumblebee bat coloring sheet 
• Follow us on Instagram @wildandkindkidspod
• Show us your coloring sheet or request an animal: wildandkindkidspod@gmail.com
• Sign up for email updates

Learn along with us and explore some of the resources we consulted:

• Bumblebee Bat (Bat Conservation International)
• Bumblebee Bat (iNaturalist)

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hey everyone, ready to make some noise? Okay, Lincoln, pick a silly word.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Underwear.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

I guess I asked for a silly word. All right, so on the count of three, we are gonna yell underwear very loud. Are you ready? One, two, three. Underway! Okay, now we're gonna yell it the exact same way, but this time I want you to put your hand in front of your face. And as we do it, I want you to listen to what feels different. Ready? One, two, three.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Underway.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Okay, did you feel anything different? Did it feel louder or softer?

SPEAKER_01 0:44

It feeled more in my face.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

Yeah, it felt more in your face. Maybe the sound felt like it bounced back towards your face. Well, that is because when we make sounds, they travel through the air as sound waves. And when those waves hit something, like your hand, they bounce back. And that's pretty important for today's creature. Let's get learning. I'm Carrie, and I grew up on a zoo.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

I'm Lincoln. I'm Eliza. And we're the world about animals.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

Welcome to the Wild and Kind Kids Podcast. Hey Lincoln and Eliza.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Hey Mom.

SPEAKER_02 1:31

Guess what? Today we have a listener request. Today's request is from you know what? Actually, let's just hear it straight from her.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Hi, Lincoln and Eliza. This is Norelia from Alameda, California. And I'm mild and kind about bats. Have you heard of the bubble bee bat? It is the color brown, and it is so cute. And it's the world's smallest mammal.

unknown 2:01

Hi, Norelia!

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Norelia, look, I gotta tell you, I did not even know that this bat existed. Now we did have bats at the zoo where I grew up, but they were tiny. But looking back, the bumblebee bat makes them seem huge. Lincoln and Eliza, I'm gonna show you a picture of the bumblebee bat. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Oh it's just a little baby pumpkin. Okay. He's such a cutie wootie.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

So, everyone, we are looking at a picture of a bumblebee bat, which we will post on Instagram this week. And the bumblebee bat, also known as the kitty's hognosebat, lives in Southeast Asia. It spends a lot of time hanging upside down in limestone caves. Now, the reason this bat has such a funny name is because it is extremely small. In fact, the bumblebee bat is the smallest bat that scientists know of, and one of the smallest mammals on Earth. A grown-up bumblebee bat weighs about two grams. That's about the same weight as a coin. Think about that. A bat that weighs the same amount as a coin, and its body is only an inch long. So basically, it's almost the size of an actual bumblebee. Imagine a bat so small it could sit on your fingertip. Alright, Lincoln and Eliza, what else do we learn about the bumblebee bat?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

They are mammals with wings.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

Yes, bats are mammals, which means they have fur and their babies drink milk. But bats also have something very unusual for a mammal: wings. In fact, bats are the only mammals in the world that truly fly. But get this bats have tiny thumbs on their wings, so they can fly, but those tiny thumbs also help them climb around inside caves or hang onto rocks when they rest upside down. Pretty handy. And here's an amazing thing about bumblebee bat wings. Their body, as we said, is only about an inch long, but when they stretch their wings all the way open, their wingspan, so tip to tip, can reach just over five inches. That means their wings are about five times longer than their body. Try this with me, y'all. Stretch your arms out as wide as you can. Now look at your arms and imagine if your arms were five times longer than your body. You'd have a pretty impressive wingspan. Alright, give me another fact, y'all.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

They have a super cute pigg nose.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Yes. That is why they are called the kitty's hognosebat. Their nose helps them sense the world around them and may help direct echolocation. A big word that we'll talk more about later. Many bats actually have unusual nose shapes that scientists think might help them with sound and smell. Love it. Alright, what else, y'all?

SPEAKER_01 5:11

They're total cave bodies.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Yes. So during the day, bumblebee bats hang upside down inside limestone caves. And at dawn and dusk, they fly out to hunt insects nearby. Scientists have found that they usually hunt within about one kilometer of their cave. That means their cave is the very center of their tiny bat neighborhood. Okay, uh, what else?

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Even though they're super tiny, they're super strong flyers.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

Yes, so like we said, bumblebee bats leave their caves at dawn and dusk to hunt for food. Insects. That's when the most insects are buzzing around. And when they leave their cave, they usually only hunt for 18 to 30 minutes. But during that time, they are fast fliers. They actually catch insects right out of the air, which scientists call aerial hunting. All right, let's meet one up close in our story of the day. Inside a limestone cave in Thailand, where tall bamboo forests reach for the sky and warm rivers wind through the hills. Hundreds of tiny bats hang from a cave ceiling. They sleep from dawn to dusk, wrapped in their wings, like tiny folded umbrellas. And amongst them is Twinkle. Twinkle has a problem. Twinkle does not want to sleep all day. Twinkle wants adventure. She has been flying close to her mom for weeks. But today, Twinkle is ready to break free. She wants to dart between the bamboo stalks, dive low to hover over the rivers. She wants to zoom through the glowing sky. And so, as dusk approaches, Twinkle wiggles and squirms and peeks longingly toward the cave entrance. Her mother opens one eye. You look like a bat with a buzzing brain, she says gently. I want to explore the whole night. Twinkle blurts out. Her mother smiles. The night is a very big place for a tiny bat. Twinkle puffs up her chest.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

I'm not scared.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Her mother chuckles softly. Being brave doesn't mean you never feel scared. And then she teaches Twinkle a little rhyme. And friends, you can say this with us as we go. Ready? Her mother whispers. Small wings, brave heart. Get ready. Let's start. You can say it when the night feels too big, her mother says. Soon the sky outside the cave turns purple. The cool evening air drifts inside. The bats begin to stir. Hundreds of wings stretch. Hundreds of tiny squeaks echo through the cave. It's time to fly. Twinkle scoots. She scouts closer to the entrance. She looks behind to see if her mom followed, but her mom hangs back and gives a tiny nod. Twinkle is on her own tonight. A forest stretches out wide outside the cave. The world suddenly seems really big. Twinkle swallows and then whispers to herself.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

Small wings, brave heart. Get ready, yet start.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

And then she dives. Whoosh Twinkle zooms out of the cave and into the night. But then a gust of wind pushes Twinkle sideways. She spins. She wobbles. She nearly bumps into a tree.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Whoa, the wind is crazy tonight.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

She steadies her wings, takes a deep breath, and keeps flying. Soon, Twinkle glides between some trees. And suddenly blink, blink, blink. Tiny lights flicker all around her. Twinkle gasps. Stars But the stars are floating and blinking? And drifting through the forest? One tiny light zooms right past her nose. Excuse me, buzzes a voice.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

We are definitely not stars.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

Twinkle blinks. A firefly hovers in front of her.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Oh sorry, you're just very sparkly.

SPEAKER_02 10:33

The firefly twinkles proudly.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

We bring our own light to the night. That's how we stay brave.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

The firefly flashes once more and drifts away. Twinkle smiles and flies on. Soon she hears another sound. A loud one. Croak Croak Twinkle swoops down toward a pond where a big frog sits on a lily pad.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Hello, are you scared of the dark?

SPEAKER_02 11:08

The frog takes a very deep breath, and then Krook Twinkle nearly flips upside down.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Whoa, you're very loud.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

The frog smiles proudly. Thank you. I sing in the dark, the frog explains. My voice tells other frogs where I am. Kroak That's how I stay brave. Twinkle nods thoughtfully. Then she waves goodbye and flaps back into the forest. Then suddenly a huge shadow glides silently overhead with wide wings. Silent wings an owl. Twinkle's heart thumps. She darts into a narrow crack between two rocks. The owl glides past without seeing her. Twinkle peeks out. Good thing I'm tiny. Twinkle flies farther than she meant to. Past the trees, past the river, past a hill. Soon she realizes something. The cave is nowhere in sight. She's never been this far. She circles left, right, up, down, her wings droop. I think I might be lost. The forest suddenly feels enormous. Too enormous. Adventuring alone suddenly doesn't seem like such a good idea. Just then Twinkle hears something. A tiny buzzing sound. Ba cloud of tiny insects float in the air. Twinkle sends out a squeak. The sound bounces off the trees and rocks and flies back to her ears.

unknown 13:21

Bing ping.

SPEAKER_02 13:23

Now Twinkle knows exactly where the insects are, and she remembers her mother's rhyme.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Small wings, play pot, get ready, yet start.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

She swoops, zip, snap, crunch. A perfect insect snack for a tiny bat. And suddenly Twinkle understands something. The firefly shines. The frog sings. The owl glides. And Twinkle, she listens. That is how she stays brave. Twinkle sends out another squeak.

unknown 14:04

Ping ping ping.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

The echoes now guide her through the forest. And soon she sees it. The cave. Her home. She slips inside just as the sky begins to glow pink. Her mother is waiting. Well, her mother asks, How is your adventure? Twinkle grins.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

The night is very big.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Her mother nods. And Twinkle smiles.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

And everyone has their own way of being brave.

SPEAKER_02 14:43

Then Twinkle whispers one more time.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Small wings, wave heart, get ready, let's start.

SPEAKER_02 14:52

Because tomorrow night, there will be more adventures. Alright, y'all. Today's story is not just about adventure, it also has real animal science. Because bats really do use sound and echoes to guide their way. Although, admittedly, I have no idea if it makes them feel brave. In the wild, bats use something called echolocation. Echolocation is when an animal makes a sound and listens to the echo, the sound that bounces back, to figure out what is around it. Kind of like we did at the beginning of the episode. Bats make very high-pitched squeaks that humans usually can't hear. And those sounds travel through the air and bounce off objects like insects, trees, or cave walls. Those echoes then return to the bat's ears, and their brain uses the echoes to figure out where something is, how big it is, how far away it is, and whether it's moving. Yes. And as the bat gets closer to a bug, it starts sending out those echolocation calls faster and faster. Right before it catches an insect, the bat can call more than 200 times every second. Scientists call this the terminal buzz. It helps the bat track tiny bugs as it zips through the air. Okay, friends, it's time for our Wally Condition. Protect the night, help bats take flight. So in our story, Twinkle the Bumblebee bat lives in a cave in Thailand. Bumblebee bats live in only a small part of the world, but bats live almost everywhere on Earth. There are bats in forests, bats in deserts, bats in cities, there might even be a bat in your own backyard. There are more than 1400 kinds of bats in the world. And no matter where they live, they make a big difference. Many bats eat insects, and they eat a lot of them. A single bat can eat hundreds of bugs in one night, including mosquitoes and other pests. That helps keep pests under control, protect the food we eat, and it reduces the need for sprays to get rid of bugs. In other words, it's a good thing we have bats in the world, and bats need us. Bats need dark skies to hunt and find their way. Your mission tonight is to look around your home and see if there is at least one light that could be turned off when nobody needs it. Might be a porch light, a backyard light, maybe a lamp shining out the window. With the help of a grown-up, try turning off these unnecessary lights at night.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

Because when we protect the night, we help bats take flight.

SPEAKER_02 18:02

Exactly. Thanks everyone. We'll see you next week. This podcast is produced by John, also known as Lincoln and Eliza's Dad. If you're enjoying these adventures, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a review and tell your friends. Check out the show notes to find a coloring sheet for today's creature. And explore more episodes at wildandkindkids.com. To show us your coloring sheet or request an animal for a future story, contact us at wild and kindkidspod at gmail.com. You can also find us on Instagram at Wild and Kind Kids Pod. Thanks for exploring with us, friends. Until next time.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Keep your hearts kind and your curiosity wild.