Judy Snyder, age 10, of St. Louis, Missouri, for her  question:

Do bats have eyes?

People who think that bats are blind are all wrong. The furry little fliers have bright brown eyes and their eyes can see well enough to suit their way of life. The bright light of day does not suit them, perhaps because there is not much of their favorite food around at this time. The bats that live in our country enjoy gnats, mosquitos and other insects that fly around in flocks when the sun goes down. This is when the bats come out for dinner. When the sun comes up, they go home to sleep in their dark caves and crannies.

So these bats are used to dim light and in the evening twilight their eyes see just about as well as ours do. But they are not used to bright daylight. Then they hardly can see at all. They are dazzled, just as you are when somebody suddenly flashes a brilliant light in your eyes. The only difference is that your eyes can get used to the bright light and adjust to it, but the bat's eyes cannot do this.