Our Bat Family Weathervane, Chiroptera, was originally commissioned as a gift. The customer’s boyfriend had surprised her two years previous with one of our Witch Weathervanes, and it had been such a satisfying gift, bringing daily viewing pleasure, she wanted to return the favor and add to their collection of lovely outdoor art. This customer was quite certain of the kind of look she wanted, the optional gold leafing in the wings, and the style of arrow and fletching. Because it was a surprise we sent all information in plain envelopes, and left no phone messages or emails originating from our business. Because the boyfriend had worked with us previously, creating his own surprise, we were obliged to be especially cagey to maintain her surprise for him!

This swell bodied sculpture piece is fabricated entirely in copper, we added optional gold leaf to the bats’ inner wing panels and the arrow tip and fletching. Each bat has brown glass eyes with black pupils to give it a more animated appearance. We also offer a single Bat Weathervane.

A recent customer for this design asked us to personalize it with the addition of gingko tree leaves gilded in optional gold leaf. Their grandfather had planted gingko trees at the family home many years ago and they are now huge and grand and a definite beloved presence. We love personalizing our designs to create a truly memorable weather vane.

Bats are fascinating agents of insect control. Many bats, and almost all in the United States, thrive on an insect diet. A single bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects every hour, and each bat usually eats 6,000 to 8,000 insects each night. Their appetite for mosquitoes is comforting, literally. Some of their favorite prey include crop-destroying moths, cucumber beetles, flies and gnats. Natural insect control is their specialty.

Their most distinguishing physical feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight (though other mammals, such as flying squirrels and gliding flying possums, can glide for limited distances). The word Chiroptera comes from the Greek words cheir & ‘hand’ and pteron ‘wing’ as the structure of the open wing is very similar to an outspread human hand with a membrane (patagium) between the fingers that also stretches between hand and body.

Please enjoy our Halloween Gallery

Witch Weathervane Flying with Cat	Scary Cat Weathervane	Witch Weathervane-Flying Silhouette
Hanging Bat Weathervane	Gargoyle Weathervane	Witch's Hat Weathervane with Broom
Witch with Moon Weathervane	Cat on Moon Weathervane	Bat Family Weathervane