BY BRIGITTE RUTHMAN REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

HARTFORD -- A mysterious disease that has killed hibernating bats in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts has reached Litchfield County.

State biologists announced on Friday they have found bats afflicted with a fungus called "white-nose syndrome" hibernating in unnamed locations in northern Litchfield County near the Massachusetts border. The fungus is similar to a mysterious illness that has decimated the honey bee population.

The consequences are grave because bats are the single largest predator of night flying insects, including mosquitoes and agricultural pests, and provide a role as insect control agents, said Jenny Dickson, supervising wildlife biologist of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"This could have a major impact on biodiversity in Connecticut, and we are taking this discovery very seriously," she said. "Any significant depletion in their numbers will also result in a significant effect in other parts of our ecosystem."

Last year, 8,000 to 11,000 bats died in several New York hibernaculas — areas where bats hibernate — a number thought to be about half the wintering population. Bats with the illness typically have a white, fuzzy fungus on their nose and, occasionally, other body parts.

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