To net or not to net - 3rd edition - Department of Primary Industries

Introduction
The native winged vertebrates collectively known as ‘flying foxes’ or ‘fruit bats’ damage fruit crops in
Queensland on an annual basis and have been a significant pest of fruit orchards for many years.
Crops most affected are low-chill stone fruit, lychee, longan and rambutan and other crops often
damaged include persimmons, bananas, pawpaws and mangoes. Most crops damaged by flying foxes are
also susceptible to damage by birds.
Orchard netting provides a physical barrier to exclude flying foxes and protect crops under all conditions.
While sound and light systems can be used to deter animals from feeding in an orchard, these systems
can be ineffective in some situations (e.g. when animals are starving).
Pests that can be controlled by netting
Orchard netting can be used to control a number of vertebrate and insect pests. Information about these
pests and the type of net needed to control them follows.
Flying foxes
‘Bats’ is the common name given to a group of mammals that belong to the scientific order Chiroptera,
which includes all the species commonly referred to as flying foxes, fruit or blossom bats.
Within the order Chiroptera are two suborders:
• Microchiroptera (microbats) are generally small bats with wingspans up to 30 cm. Microbats use
echolocation to hunt their prey and most eat insects.
• Megachiroptera (megabats) includes the family Pteropodidae, to which the flying foxes belong.
Fying foxes are much larger than the Microchiroptera and have wingspans up to 1.6 m. Flying foxes
live on a diet of fruit, blossoms and nectar and use their well-developed senses of smell and sight
to find food. Megabats, including flying foxes do not echolocate.
Flying foxes have adapted to take advantage of introduced species found in urban areas and commercial
orchards that—combined with native species—gives a year-round food supply (Hall 1994). Flying foxes are
intelligent creatures with communal habits. They are good food foragers and range 60–100 km per night
from their roost site. These characteristics make flying foxes hard to predict and control.
Flying foxes play an important environmental role as flower pollinators and seed dispersers. Because
they feed on a wide range of forest species, flying foxes have a major influence on the evolution and
reproduction of many different forest types (Eby 1995).
Six species of flying fox are found in Australia, but the following four are most common:
Little red flying fox, Pteropus scapulatus (Figure 1). This is
Australia’s most widely distributed flying fox species and is found in
all states and territories except Tasmania. The wing membranes are
distinctly brown and are transparent when spread in flight. Little red
flying foxes are distinctly smaller than grey-headed and black flying
foxes.
Little red flying foxes feed predominantly on nectar. They are
seasonally nomadic, following the mass flowering of native
hardwoods, and their unpredictable movements depend on the
flowering of these trees. They live in large camps—often near
water—which they return to each year (the camps usually last 4–6
weeks while native trees in the area blossom). Unlike Australia’s
other flying fox species, little red flying foxes cluster together on
branches when roosting.
This species is migratory and is not regarded as a persistent orchard
pest; however, when native blossoms fail, little red flying foxes can
cause severe damage to orchard crops. Figure 1. Little red flying fox
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To net or not to net