Little Brown Bat

Myotis lucifugus

Perhaps the best known myotis in North America; much of the research done about bats is conducted on this species.

Family:

Vespertilionidae (evening bats and vesper bats)

Description:

The little brown bat varies in color from brown, reddish to golden. On average, little brown bats weigh less than half an ounce and have a wingspan of 8 to 11 inches. Females are typically larger than males.

Habitat:

This bat inhabits forested lands near water, but some subspecies can be found in dry climates where water is not readily available. In those habitats, drinking water is provided by moisture on cave walls or condensation on the fur. Little brown bats live over a wide latitudinal and elevational range.

Range:

Little brown bats are abundant in southern Alaska, Canada, across the United States from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts, and the higher elevation forested regions of Mexico.

Diet:

Little brown bats, along with many other insectivorous bats, are opportunistic feeders; they will eat a variety of flying insects, particularly midges.

Breeding:

Little brown bats delay ovulation and store sperm for about seven months between copulations in the fall and fertilization in the spring. Pups are born and reared in June and July after a 50 to 60 day gestation period. They produce a single young born in spring.

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