Certain species of bats get their chilling name from a legendary monster, the vampire, and like these revolting fantasy creatures, these bats really do drink the blood of animals. Luckily, vampire bats don’t harm people; they’re much more interested in the blood of livestock and forest animals. Their bites are so small that they’re often undetected by the animals they feed on. Readers will be fascinated by these eerie creatures as well as the awesome photographs of vampire bats in the wild.

Vampires are made-up creatures that drink blood. But vampire bats are real! Do they really need to drink blood to survive? You have questions and this book has the answers. Find out about vampire bats, including what they eat and their behavior.

A major problem with vampire bats is that whatever information exists is scattered throughout the literature or is not recorded. There are some excellent books on the ecology and biology of bats with very little on vampire bats. This volume fills that gap to provide an in-depth presentation of these unique animals.

“A witty, scientifically accurate, and often intensely creepy exploration of sanguivorous creatures.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Bill Schutt turns whatever fear and disgust you may feel towards nature’s vampires into a healthy respect for evolution’s power to fill every conceivable niche.”—Carl Zimmer, author of Parasite Rex and Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life For centuries, blood feeders have inhabited our nightmares and horror stories, as well as the shadowy realms of scientific knowledge. In Dark Banquet, zoologist Bill Schutt takes us on a fascinating voyage into the world of some of nature’s strangest creatures—the sanguivores. Using a sharp eye and mordant wit, Schutt makes a remarkably persuasive case that blood feeders, from bats to bedbugs, are as deserving of our curiosity as warmer and fuzzier species are—and that many of them are even worthy of conservation. Examining the substance that sustains nature’s vampires, Schutt reveals just how little we actually knew about blood until well into the twentieth century. We revisit George Washington on his deathbed to learn how ideas about blood and the supposedly therapeutic value of bloodletting, first devised by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, survived into relatively modern times. Dark Banquet details our dangerous and sometimes deadly encounters with ticks, chiggers, and mites (the ­latter implicated in Colony Collapse Disorder—currently devastating honey bees worldwide). Then there are the truly weird—vampire finches. And if you thought piranha were scary, some people believe that the candiru (or willy fish) is the best reason to avoid swimming in the Amazon. Enlightening and alarming, Dark Banquet peers into a part of the natural world to which we are, through our blood, inextricably linked.

"This book covers information (life cycle, appearance, habitat) about the vampire bat. Each chapter discusses an aspect of the vampire bat's life, comparing the bat to a similar mammal and to a very different mammal."--

Facts about how bats see in the dark, if bats really drink blood, which type of bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour, which bat has a tongue longer than its body, and many more will be found inside this book of fun facts about bats. This bat guidebook proves bats aren’t as creepy as many people think. Readers are sure to enjoy the up-close images of bats in the wild.

Sixteen-year-old Lucy Szabo is Undead -- at least according to her own theories about vampirism. Lucy believes that the first vampires -- with their pale skin, long teeth, and uncontrollable thirst -- were dying diabetics. And she should know. She's a diabetic herself. When Lucy becomes involved with Draco -- a self-proclaimed "real" vampire she meets in the Transylvania Internet chat room -- her world begins crashing down around her. Caught up in late-night parties and Goth culture, she begins to lose control of her grades, relationships, and health. Lucy realizes she needs to make some important choices, and fast. But it may already be too late.