Virginia crop insurance agents may be seeing a rise in claims due to decimated crops in the near future because of a disease affecting bats. A 2011 issue is rearing its ugly head yet again, White-Nose Syndrome is killing different bat species that usually control the insect population, and increased insect numbers could spell disaster for harvests.

According to a release by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the first case of WNS was seen in Virginia in 2009 and had spread to at least 13 counties by 2011. The syndrome affects the animals during hibernation and causes white fungus on a bat's body, face or wings, disorientation and usually death, the document revealed.

The Huffington Post claimed there have been at least 5.7 million bat deaths between the United States and Canada so far.

Farmers in Virginia, one of the states with many confirmed WNS cases, should be aware of the situation and alert authorities to any oddly acting bats. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Ann Froschauer told the Huffington Post, "bats are the primary predator of night-flying insects, and that includes moths and beetles... and many of these are crop pests."