Wood ducks depend upon forested wetland habitat for food and cover, although marshes are also used. Breeding range must have trees for nesting cavities and food near permanent freshwater lakes and streams. Brushy boarders are important for nesting and brooding. Swampy areas with cypress and gum are premium for roosting. Bats serve as important pollinators of many food plants as well as provide useful aids for medical research, particularly for the blind.
Bats are the only major predator of night-flying insects.
Bat prey includes lacewings, cockroaches, gnats, and mosquitoes as their major food source. A single big brown bat can eat between 3,000 and 7,000 mosquitoes in a night, with large populations of bats consuming thousands of tons of potentially harmful forest and agricultural pests annually.