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Big Brown Bat
- Scientific name: Eptesicus fuscus.
- Weight:
11-23 grams.
- Wingspan: 32-35 centimeters.
- Distribution: From
southern Canada throughout the United States to northwestern South
America, including many islands in the Caribbean.
- Ecology and Behavior:
Big brown bats are closely associated with humans and are probably more
familiar to people in the United States than is any other species of bat.
Most summer roosts are located in attics, barns, bridges or other man-
made structures, where colonies of a few to several hundred individuals
gather to form maternity colonies. They move into caves, mines, and other
underground structures to hibernate only during the coldest weather. Where
most of these bats stay during winter remains unknown. This species
emerges at dusk and flies a steady nearly strait course at a height of
6-10 meters. Its large size and steady flight make it easily recognizable.
Apparently, some individuals use the same feeding ground each night, for a
bat can be seen following an identical feeding pattern on different
nights. After feeding, the bat flies to a night roost to rest: favored
night roosts include the porches of stucco or brick houses, garages with
open doors, or a breezeway.
- Food Habits: These bats consume
beetles, ants, flies, mosquitoes, mayflies, stoneflies, and a variety of
other insects.
- Reproduction: Mating takes place in autumn and
winter, females store sperm, and fertilization takes place in spring. In
the eastern United States, big brown bats usually bear twins in early
June. In western North America, only one young is born each year.
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Status of Populations: Relatively common throughout most of its range.
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