It’s called White Nose Syndrome and it looks like just that - white marking of the muzzles and ears of bats. What concerns scientists is the fact that 99% of affected bats die. It has spread across the northeast United States and has recently been identified in six more caves in Virginia.

The effects on the ecosystem may be significant because less bats means more insects, since bats are the in the spot on the food chain that balances out nocturnal insect life. Without them hunting the local insect populations, both households and farmers may find that pest species become rampant.

This is likely to mean increased use of insecticides on crops and that economic and environmental cost will be carried by the consumer in the end. Many are comparing this bat epidemic to the Colony Collapse Disorder being experienced by the bee population.