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.