![]() ![]() Like many bat species, reproductive females often can consume their body weight in insects each night. Numerous feeding studies of big brown bats exist indicating that they consume significant crop and forest pests including ground beetles, scarab beetles, cucumber beetles, snout beetles and stink bugs, in addition to numerous species of moths and leafhoppers (Whitaker and Hamilton, 1998). They are generalists in their foraging behavior and habitat selections, seemingly showing little preference for feeding over water vs. Small beetles are their most frequent prey, yet big brown bats will consume prodigious quantities of a wide variety of night-flying insects. Common maternity roosts today can be found in buildings, barns, bridges, and even bat houses. Traditionally, these bats have formed maternity colonies beneath loose bark and in small cavities of pine, oak, beech, bald cypress and other trees. This species ranges from extreme northern Canada, throughout the United States and south to the extreme southern tip of Mexico. It is often abundant in suburban areas of mixed agricultural use. The big brown bat is found in virtually every American habitat ranging from timberline meadows to lowland deserts, though it is most abundant in deciduous forest areas. Their ears are short and blunt, their snout and mouth are broad, and their tail membrane is not furred.īig brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) range map.īat Conservation International, Inc. ![]() Their fur is long, tends to be oily, and ranges from light to dark brown, contrasting with the black of their muzzle, ears, and wing membranes. Physical Descriptionīig brown bats weigh between ½ and ¾ of an ounce and their wingspans range from 13 to 16 inches, with forearms > 1 ½ inches long. Like most bats, big brown bats are social animals, found as singles and in small groups or large colonies of typically dozens to hundreds of individuals. Though most people never encounter any bat, Virginians and other North Americans, are most likely to encounter big brown bats in places where the bats night roost or rest between foraging bouts. Recognized by their steady flight and large size, big brown bats can be seen at dusk in summer as they commute and forage for insects. ![]() Watch the night sky at dusk and wait for what at first seems like a bird, except that it makes maneuvers that no bird can. The big brown bat is the largest among the bats potentially encountered by visitors to Shenandoah National Park. ![]()
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