TO THE BAT CAVE

Bats have gotten an unfair rep, mostly due to their fictional association with vampires, but our only flying mammal — flying squirrels only glide, technically — is vital to controlling insects, eating from 2,000 to 6,000 in just one night. (They actually eat their body weight every night; for humans, this would mean eating a stack of pizzas as tall as you are every day!) Tonight the Organization for Bat Conservation is presenting Bats at Belvedere, a seminar with live bats at Belvedere Castle, teaching us all about our winged friends. Learn how to spot them in their natural habitats, plus some fascinating facts, such as the similarity between a bat’s wing structure and the human hand and the typical lifespan of a bat, which ranges from 20 to 40 years. Come early and enjoy the views from the castle.

Sat., Oct. 11, 6 p.m., 2014