 Bats
of Indiana
Evening Bat
Two Evening bats flying near a cave
(drawing by CES Media Club)
| Scientific
Name: Nycticeius
humeralis Description:
The
Evening bat has brown fur but a darker
almost blackish face. Its length is about
four inches. The wingspan it has is about
eleven inches.
Population:
The
Evening bat is common in the southern
coastal states, but less common in the
rest of its range. (see range below)
Food: The Evening
bat likes to eat insects. They use
echolocation (high-pitched sounds) to
locate the insects they eat.
Range:
This
bat can be found in most of the
southeastern United States, also in parts
of southern Canada, and some of
northeastern Mexico.
Reproduction:
This
bat has twins in late May or early June.
The maternity colonies may have hundreds
of bats. They usually live about five
years.
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The Evening bat lives in forested areas. It very
rarely
enters caves. It likes to live under loose bark
and hollow trees.
Sometimes can be found in abandoned, open
buildings.
The Evening bat
forages for its prey in the early evening
hours. They mostly eat mosquitoes, moths,
Japanese
beetles, files, and other small insects.
The Evening bat
(c) Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation
International
It is not clear
where the Evening bat's winter habitat is.
Biologists know they store fat for a long
migration south.
An Evening bat getting ready
to find its prey
(drawing by CES Media Club)
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References/Resources
Drawing
of the Evening bat by
Cannelton Elementary Media Club
Photograph of the Evening bat
(c) Merlin D. Tuttle
Bat Conservation International
All other photographs belong to
CES Media Club
BOOKS:
Bats
of the United States
by
Michael J. Harvey, J. Scott Altenbach,
and Troy L. Best, Arkansas Game
& Fish Commision and the U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, copyright 1999
Those
Amazing Bats by
Cheryl Mays Halton
Dillon Press, New York copyright 1991
WEBSITES:
Kentucky
Bat Working Group
http://www.biology.eku.edu/bats.htm
Bat World
http://www.batworld.org
Bat
Conservation International
http://www.batcon.org
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Comments? Questions?
You can e-mail us at:
jgoble@cannelton.k12.in.us
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