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Bats in Your Belfry!
Bat Facts
compiled by Sonya Wood Mahler
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There are 17 species of bats
in Florida, all insectivores.
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A single gray bat can eat
3,000 insects in one night.
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There are 39 bat species in
the United States (36 of them eat insects, 3 are nectar lovers).
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40% of bats in the U.S. are
endangered, threatened, or species of special concern. There are about
1,000 species of bats worldwide (70% of them are the bug-chasing kind).
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Bats can live up to 20 years.
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Bats are the only mammals
that truly fly.
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Their fastest recorded speed
is a big brown bat flying at 40mph.
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Their order name, Chiroptera,
means "flying hand".
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Unlike birds, which flap
their wings up and down, bats "swim" through the air.
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Their wing beats may be as
rapid as 20 per second.
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Bats use their ecolocation,
or sonar, to find insects and avoid obstacles at night.
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The tiniest mammal of all is
a bat the size of a bumble bee.
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The big fruit bats, called
flying foxes, don't have sonar, and may have wing spans of up to six
feet.
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There are no fruit bats or
vampire bats in the United States.
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Vampire bats live only
in Latin America. They feed entirely on blood, mostly from chickens,
turkeys, ducks, and geese, and sometimes from pigs, cattle, and horses.
Most bats have one pup per year, sometimes two.
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Red bats have 3 to 4
offspring at a time. They are the only bats with 4 nipples.
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Bat pups are born feet first
(unique among mammals) in the spring, and can fly within 6 to 8 weeks.
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Beneficial Bats
World-wide there are nearly 1,000 species of bats and most of these are
highly beneficial. Seventy percent of all bats feed on insects making them
the most important controller of night flying insects, including many
agricultural pests. A single bat can eat up to 3,000 insects in one night.
In the tropics, fruit and nectar feeding bats play a vital role in the
survival and re-growth of the rain forests. Fruit-eating bats spread seeds
as they fly and digest their food. Nectar feeding bats pollinate many
valuable plants such as bananas, balsa wood, agave and more.
Bats are Unique
Bats are the only flying mammal. Scientists have classified them into a
unique order all their own called "Chiroptera" which means "hand wing".
Bats literally fly with their hands! Bats are not blind. In addition to
sight many species have highly developed ultrasonic sonar capabilities
which they use to navigate and catch insects in total darkness.
Threats to survival
Bats are disappearing at an alarming rate. Disturbance of roosting sites
due to development and vandalism are the greatest threats to Florida's
bats. Much of this is due to ignorance and misunderstanding.
Helping Florida's Bats
You can help Florida's bats by learning more about them and sharing bat
information with others. Fear and misunderstanding are the worst enemies
of Florida's bats.
Courtesy of the Florida Bat Center
10941 Burnt Store Road,
Punta Gorda, FL 33955
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Florida Bats
Seventeen species of bats have been found
in Florida, thirteen are considered resident. All of Florida's bats are
insectivorous and feed on a variety of night flying insects. Florida's
bat species use a diversity of roosting sites, including dead trees,
palm fronds, Spanish moss, buildings and caves.
Of the thirteen bats considered resident
bats in Florida, the two most common are:
Following are descriptions of the bats
that you may find in your own neighborhood. Look around to see if you
can find these bats.
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Free-tailed bat
(Tadarida brasiliensis)
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This bat is called "free-tailed"
because the end of the tail extends beyond the edge of the tail
membrane. Free-tailed bats are medium sized with brownish gray fur.
The free-tailed bat is the most abundant bat in Florida with very
large colonies numbering from 50 to over 20,000 bats. Free-tails are
strong fliers, they can fly as fast as 60 mph and can fly as high as 2
miles.
Mexican free tails usually feed on small moths and
beetles.
Free-tailed bats normally mate from mid-February
through late March. The females give birth to a single pup from May to
June, sometimes as late as July or August.
Weight 11-15 grams, wingspan 30-35 centimeters
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Evening bat
(Nycticeius humeralis)
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The evening bat is a small
brown bat with black wings and a black muzzle. Evening bats are
slightly smaller than the Mexican free tails. Evening bat colonies are
small in size and in many cases evening bats are found living among
free-tail bat colonies.
Evening bats consume a variety of small insects.
Evening bats mate in winter. They usually have twins
but can have from 1-3 pups per liter. The pups are usually born late
April to early May.
Weight 7-14 grams, wingspan 26-29 centimeters
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Hoary bat
(Lasiurus cinereus)
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The hoary bat is a large
heavily furred bat that spends most of the time concealed in the
foliage of trees. They are solitary roosters. Because they seldom
enter houses and spend the daylight hours well concealed, they are
rarely seen by humans. They eat Moths,
mosquitoes and other insects and may occasionally capture another bat
as food.
Hoary bats give birth to two young in mid-May
through early July. The Hawaiian subspecies is the only bat found in
Hawaii and is considered endangered.
Weight 25-30 grams, wingspan 34-41 centimeters |
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Big brown bat
(Eptesicus fuscus)
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Big brown bats are
familiar to more people in the United States than any other species of
bat. They roost in man made structures in the summer and move to caves
and mines to hibernate during the coldest weather.
They consume beetles, ants, flies, mosquitoes and other
insects.
Mating takes place in autumn and winter, females
store the sperm and fertilization takes place in spring. In the
eastern United States, big browns usually bear twins in early June. In
the western United States usually only one baby is born each year.
Weight 14-21 grams, wingspan 32-40 centimeters
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Northern yellow bat
(Lasiurus intermedius)
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Yellow bats typically
inhabit wooded areas in the vicinity of permanent water. Their
distribution coincides with Spanish moss where they often roost and
bear their young. In some parts of Florida it is the most common bat.
They are somewhat colonial, especially females during the nursing
season. Northern yellow bats consume flies,
mosquitoes, beetles and other insects.
Mating occurs in autumn and winter. Two to four
babies are born in May or June.
Weight 14-31 grams, wingspan 35-41 centimeters |
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Seminole bat
(Lasiurus seminolus)
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Seminole bats are the most
common bats seen flying in the evening throughout the United States.
They fly during all seasons, even in mid winter. Their distribution
coincides with Spanish moss where they most often roost. They also
roost in loose bark and in caves. They wander extensively after young
are weaned. Seminole bats consume true bugs,
flies, mosquitoes, beetles, crickets and other insects which are
usually captured at canopy level.
One to four babies are born during late spring or
early summer.
Weight 9-14 grams, wingspan 29-34 centimeters |
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Little brown bat
(Myotis lucifugus)
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The little brown bat
inhabits buildings during the summer and in the winter hibernates in
caves and mines. The females form colonies of hundreds or thousands,
usually close to a lake or stream. They prefer to forage over water
but will forage among trees. Little browns eat
gnats, crane flies, beetles, wasps and moths. Insects are usually
captured with a wing tip.
Mating occurs in autumn and one baby is born in May
through early July. The mother keeps the baby beneath a wing when at
rest. Their life span may be more than 20 years.
Weight 7-14 grams, wingspan 22-27 centimeters |
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Eastern red bat
(Lasiurus borealis)
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Eastern red bats are
foliage roosters, usually hanging by one foot, giving them the
appearance of a dead leaf. They are almost fully furred and can
respond to cold temperature by increasing their metabolism. Predators
include many types of birds. Red bats commonly
feed beneath street lights, on moths, crickets, flies, mosquitoes,
true bugs, beetles, cicadas and other insects.
Eastern red bats mate in flight during August and
September, the sperm is stored over winter, and females give birth to
1-4 babies during the late spring or early fall.
Weight 9-15 grams, wingspan 28-33 centimeters |
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inside a bat house
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