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Eastern Red Bat
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Scientific name: Lasiurus borealis.
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Weight: 8-14 grams.
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Wingspan: 29-33 centimeters.
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Distribution: Southern Canada, the eastern United States (except the
Florida peninsula), northeastern Mexico.
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Ecology and Behavior:
Eastern red bats spend daylight hours hanging in foliage of trees. They
usually hang by one foot, giving them the appearance of dead leaves.
Although these bats seldom enter caves for any distance, they often swarm
about cave entrances in autumn. In colder parts of their range, they may
migrate south in winter or hibernate in hollow trees or leaf litter. These
bats are almost completely furred, except for their ears and parts of
their wings, and they can respond to subfreezing temperatures by
increasing their metabolism. Predators include several kinds of birds,
especially blue- jays. Eastern red bats emerge early in the evening and
often fly on warm winter afternoons. They forage regularly over the same
territory on successive nights. They commonly feed beneath street lights
in towns and occasionally can be seen to alight and capture an insect on
wooden poles.
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Food Habits: Eastern red bats consume moths,
crickets, flies, mosquitoes, true bugs, beetles, cicadas, and other
insects.
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Reproduction: Eastern red bats initiate mating in flight
during August and September, sperm is stored over winter, and females give
birth to one to four young during late spring or early summer. Young are
born hairless, with the eyes closed, and they cling to the fur of the
mother with their teeth, thumbs, and feet.
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Status of Populations:
Common throughout most of its range.
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