Eastern Red Bat
- Scientific Name: Lasiurus borealis
- Weight: 8-14 grams
- Wingspan: 29-33 centimeters
- Distribution: Southern Canada, the eastern United States (except the Florida peninsula), northeastern Mexico.
- 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. - Food Habits: Eastern red bats consume moths, crickets, flies, mosquitoes, true bugs, beetles, cicadas, and other insects.
- 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.
- Status of Populations: Common throughout most of its range.
- Range:
The presence of species in particular counties is based on both summer and winter occurrence records compiled by the TNBWG, an unshaded county does not represent the absence of a particular species from that county, only the lack of an occurrence record. These maps are intended for educational and general information purposes only and are not intended for use in consultation with US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or any other state or federal agencies. Project proponents should contact USFWS and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for the most up to date ranges for bat species in Tennessee.
Range Map Data Sources
National bat ranges - Layer downloaded from nationalatlas.gov. The data were compiled by Bat Conservation International using data from state natural heritage programs, published literature, unpublished reports, museum collections, and personal communications from university, Federal, State, and local biologists.
TN county occurrence data - TWRA Scientific Collection Permit data compiled from 2000-2013, TWRA Wildlife Diversity database, published literature [Graves and Harvey 1974. (Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences 49:106-109)], personal communications from university, Federal, State, local biologists, and TNBWG members.