Insectivorous bats are widely recognised as effective biocontrol agents. However, assessments of their effectiveness as service providers have traditionally relied on measures of foraging behaviour, such as activity levels and trophic ecology. Increasing evidence suggests that a more complete evaluation of bat-mediated biocontrol requires integrative frameworks that consider not only foraging behaviour but also species- and population-level attributes of both bats and their target pests. Here, we tested this premise using the study of Blažek et al. (2025) as a case study. Specifically, we applied the Service Providing Unit (SPU) framework to assess whether bat assemblages inhabiting forest-dominated landscapes of southern Moravia, Czech Republic, can continue to provide effective biocontrol of Operophtera brumata during late-autumn outbreaks, despite reduced overall bat activity and a low dietary preference for flying geometrid moths. Our SPU estimates indicate that effective suppression of O. brumata requires bat population densities ranging from 2.44 to 18.41 bats ha−1, depending on assumptions regarding diet composition. Given estimated bat densities of 10–25 bats ha−1 at the study site during late autumn, the local bat assemblage is likely capable of exerting substantial control over O. brumata populations during the adult stage. This potential persists even under conditions of reduced foraging activity associated with less favourable climatic conditions and relatively low pest consumption resulting from limited prey preference. Importantly, these findings do not contradict the conclusions of Blažek et al. (2025). Rather, they extend them by showing that reduced bat activity and low prey preference, when considered in isolation, may underestimate the capacity of bats to deliver effective biocontrol services. More broadly, our study underscores the importance of incorporating species- and population-level processes associated with both predators and pests into assessments of ecosystem services. Although the SPU framework necessarily relies on several assumptions, it offers a mechanistic and ecologically grounded approach for improving quantitative evaluations of biocontrol services provided by bats and other insectivorous flying vertebrates, including birds.
