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Frugivorous bats from the Old and New World use odor cues to locate and assess fruit condition. We hypothesized that Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) use as odor cues those volatile compounds that increase in emission rate as fruit ripens. We examined whether the smell of fermentation products may indicate the degree of ripeness to fruit bats. We analyzed volatile compounds in the headspace (the gas space above a fruit in a closed container) of dates (Phoenix dactylifera) and rusty figs (Ficus rubiginosa), both of which are consumed by fruit bats, to elucidate which compounds originate from fermentative pathways and to determine which change in emission rate during ripening. Ethanol, acetaldehyde, and acetic acid were the only volatile compounds detected as products of fermentation in both fruits. In dates, emission rates of these compounds increased during maturation, whereas in rusty …