Tricolored Bat

Scientific Name: Perimyotis subflavus 

Weight: 5-8 grams

Wingspan: 21-26 centimeters

Distribution: Most of the eastern United States, southeastern Canada, and southward through eastern Mexico to Central America.

Ecology and Behavior: Caves, mines, and rock crevices are used as hibernation sites in winter and as night roosts in summer. These bats rarely occur in buildings and apparently most roost in trees during the summer. They inhabit more caves in eastern North America than any other species of bat, usually hanging singly in warmer parts of the cave. An individual may occupy a precise spot in a cave on consecutive winters; it usually has several spots in which it hangs, shifting from one to the other during the winter. This bat emerges from its daytime retreat early in the evening. It is a weak flier and so small that it may be mistaken for a large moth. Tri-colored bats usually appear to be solitary, although occasionally in late summer four or five will appear about a single tree.

Food and Foraging Habits: Often forages over waterways and forest edges. It eats moths, beetles, mosquitoes, midges, bugs, ants, and other insect.

Reproduction: Mating occurs in autumn, sperm are stored during winter, and fertilization takes place in early spring. These bats usually bear twins in late spring or early summer. The young are born hairless and pink with eyes closed, and they are capable of making clicking sounds that may aid their mothers in locating them. They grow rapidly and can fly within a month.

Status of Populations: Proposed Endangered. Declining due to white nose syndrome.