Little Brown Bat

Little Brown Bat

Little brown myotis

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Subfamily
Genus
SPECIES
Myotis lucifugus
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
6-30 years
Top speed
35
22
km/hmph
km/h mph 
Weight
5-14
0.2-0.5
goz
g oz 
Length
6-10
2.4-3.9
cminch
cm inch 
Wingspan
22-27
8.7-10.6
cminch
cm inch 

The Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) is an endangered species of mouse-eared microbat found in North America. It is similar in appearance to several other mouse-eared bats, including the Indiana bat, Northern long-eared bat, and Arizona myotis, to which it is closely related. Despite its name, the Little brown bat is not closely related to the Big brown bat, which belongs to a different genus.

No

Nocturnal

In

Insectivores

Ca

Carnivore

Ar

Arboreal

Al

Altricial

To

Torpor

Te

Terrestrial

Vi

Viviparous

To

Torpor

Po

Polygynandry

So

Social

Co

Colonial

Hi

Hibernating

No

Not a migrant

L

starts with

Appearance

The Little brown bat has small ears that do not reach the nose when pointing forward. The animal has a blunt, medium-high tragus. The hind feet are large, covered with hairs, extending past the toes. Meanwhile, the front and hind limbs have 5 metapodials. The glossy fur of the animal generally ranges in color from dark brown, golden brown, and reddish to olive-brown. However, there have also been known albino individuals among this species. The ventral side of the little brown bat is lighter. The animal has dark brown or black, almost hairless wings and interfemoral membranes. Males are smaller than females, which is most prominent during the winter months.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Little brown bats live throughout much of North America. In the north, their range extends as far west as Alaska and across much of Canada to Labrador. In the south, their range extends to Southern California and across the northern parts of Arizona and New Mexico. They usually occur in forests, living along lakes and rivers. Little brown bats use buildings, where they gather into nursery colonies. During the winter months, the animals hibernate, usually in caves or mines.

Little Brown Bat habitat map

Climate zones

Little Brown Bat habitat map
Little Brown Bat
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Habits and Lifestyle

Little brown bats are nocturnal. They typically enter torpor by day, appearing from their roosts at dusk. While at roosts, the bats are not territorial, living in large colonies of up to 300,000 individuals in one roost. These animals have two peak periods of activity: one takes place approximately 2-3 hours after dusk and the other occurs before dawn. They generally come back to their roosts at around 4-5 o'clock in the morning. During the winter months, they undergo hibernation, which varies in time, depending on the location and altitude of a given roost. Usually, they enter hibernation between September and November, coming out between March and May. Meanwhile, young bats enter hibernation quite late, since they need to store fat, which will help them survive during the winter. In addition, pups do not travel long distances to hibernation roosts. Little brown bats produce calls that are high-intensity frequency modulated (FM) that last from less than one millisecond (ms) to about 5 ms and have a sweep rate of 80-40 kHz, with most of their energy at 45 kHz. They emit approximately 20 calls per second when in flight.

Group name
Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

The Little brown bats are insectivores, they feed upon a wide variety of insects, including hoppers, mosquitoes, midges, caddisflies, moths, small beetles, and, occasionally, spiders.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
REPRODUCTION SEASON
September-October
PREGNANCY DURATION
50-60 days
BABY CARRYING
1 pup
INDEPENDENT AGE
4 weeks
FEMALE NAME
female
MALE NAME
male
BABY NAME
pup

Little brown bats have polygynandrous mating system. They have two phases of mating, during which males mate with a number of females; the active phase, when both mates are awake and alert, and the passive phase, when active males mate with torpid bats of both sexes. They mate between September and October, while fertilization takes place in spring. After 50-60 days of gestation, the female yields a single pup. The female is able to distinguish its offspring from other pups due to identifying call and odor. The baby is nursed by its mother, feeding exclusively upon maternal milk for the first 18-21 days and being weaned at the age of 3 weeks. Then, at about 4 weeks old, the pup begins to fly, becoming independent. Female bats first give birth within the first or second year of their lives.

Population

Population threats

Little brown bats are threatened by the loss and fragmentation of their natural habitat as a result of deforestation. Presently, the animals suffer from a fungal disease known as “white-nose syndrome". The cold and humid environment of their hibernacula provides ideal conditions for fungus growth, which occasionally invades the bodies of hibernating bats, leading to debilitation and high numbers (up to 90%) of mortality. The animals are also exposed to human disturbance. Other notable concerns include the use of pesticides and the use of cyanide in mining.

Population number

The Little brown bat is widespread across its range, but the overall number of their population is currently unknown. On the IUCN Red List, the Little brown bat is classified as Least Concern (LC) with a stable population trend.

Ecological niche

Little brown bats play a significant role in the local ecosystem, controlling populations of insects.

Fun Facts for Kids

  • During the winter, the animals undergo hibernation, enduring up to 50 degree Celsius change in temperature without any negative consequences.
  • Little brown bats have three types of roosting sites: day roosts, which are typically located in caves, trees, or under rocks; night roosts, found in the same places as day roosts, though separate in order to keep the feces in different places and thus protect the animals from predators; and finally, nursery roosts, which are larger than day roosts, occurring in large hollows or buildings.
  • These bats are night hunters, eating a huge number of insects. An average bat will consume as many as 1000 insects, while a pregnant female will eat up to her whole body weight per sitting.
  • In order to save energy, these animals sleep 20 hours a day on average.
  • During the summer months, females rear the pups, living separately from males. By the approaching of winter, they reunite to mate and hibernate together. Because of food shortage, they usually leave their roosts, looking for larger hibernacula.

Coloring Pages

References

1. Little Brown Bat Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_brown_bat
2. Little Brown Bat on The IUCN Red List site - http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/14176/0

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