Some are great consumers of insect pests, while others are critical in pollination and seed dispersal of tropical plants. Studies of bats have contributed to the development of navigational aids for the blind, birth control, artificial insemination techniques, vaccine production and drug testing, and low temperature surgical techniques. Although all bats are capable of echolocation, fruit bats are not as adept as insectivorous bats, and rely more on good night vision and sense of smell to locate food. Once thought to damage commercial fruit crops, we now know that fruit bats prefer well ripened fruit rather than the greener fruits that are more suitable for shipping. As such, they do not compete with commercial operations, and actually help control fruit flies by consuming the ripe fruit.
Fruit bats are also critical for pollination and seed dispersal of many tropical plants.
Without bats, many wild tropical plants like bananas, breadfruit, avocados, dates, figs, and mangos could disappear. Although populations of fruit bats are rapidly declining as a result of habitat destruction and hunting for food, they are not listed as threatened or endangered. Bats are one of the most misunderstood animals on earth. Whereas the small size and nocturnal habits of North American bats make them difficult to observe and thus easier to fear, larger tropical bats gather conspicuously in noisy, easily observed colonies. As a result, tropical bats are more familiar and better understood, and some cultures even revere them as omens of good luck and happiness.