Mysterious Bat deaths in the North East US

My area is very effected by this collapse. We have some very rare bat colonies and they may already be lost due to this problem. We won't know until spring. It's not just disease. We've been having extreme weather from very warm to very cold. When it warms up the bats go out looking for insects, the temperature then drops dramatically and the bats do not have time to get back to their shelters and colonies for warmth. Many people are finding frozen bats on the sides of their barns and trees. It's really very sad, and I agree it may lead to an explosion of mosquitos and thus the diseases they pass on to humans.

They are speculating that the reason the bats are coming out in the cold is that their fat reserves are being used up more rapidly than normal due to whatever illness is affecting them. Once the fat reserves are gone, their hibernation "breaks" due to starvation over ride, and they leave the cave, sometimes in sub-zero weather. There is nothing for them to eat in the winter, even if the weather warms up briefly, so it's pretty hopeless for them. Poor things.