How Bats in Bordeaux Are Sustainably Saving Wine. It’s part of a larger plan to eradicate #pesticides and invasive moths insidehook.com/article/booze/…

How exactly do bats help? “Eudemis are moths which destroy the grapes. Bats are big insectivores and are particularly fond of Eudemis” A bat can eat up to 3000 insects a night. Moths like bats are most active at dusk. The more moths the bats eat the less insecticides are needed

“We know that in order for them to come and eat in our vineyards, there has to be a wide variety of insects. The presence of a wide variety of flora will help with this. The presence of trees and hedges around and in the vineyards will also help the bats to find their way.”

Vintners have taken steps to create bat-friendly environments including access to water, growing grass between vine rows and installing bat nesting boxes around their vineyards. These extra steps don't just benefit bats but have also led to more bees, birds and snakes.

Vintners have also been using sheep to clear weeds and improve the quality of their soils—and the quality of their wines. “I saw sheep change the vineyards. They were dead from pesticide, brown, quiet [and] now they’re full of life, joy [and] fertility.” winemag.com/2021/08/30/vin…