Pipistrellus subflavus
Range
They are found in southeastern Canada throughout the eastern U.S. down to eastern Central America.Habitat
They live in open woods near water and roost in caves, trees, rocky cracks, barns and attics.Body Traits
They have yellow to light brown hair. They are small bats, weighing as little as ¼ of an ounce and only reaching 3.5” long. They have a wingspan of about 8”. Females are larger than males. There is a flap of skin that stretched between the legs and tail called the uropatagium.Habits
They hibernate in forest caves and unlike many other small bats they don’t huddle in large groups. They hibernate alone or in twos and threes. They are nocturnal and come out at night to hunt using echolocation. Echolocation is a kind of radar that uses the bat’s high-pitched calls to bounce off objects. They can actually “see” what is around them by how their calls bounce off their surroundings.Diet
They eat many kinds of insects.Predators
They are sometimes killed by humans.Reproduction
They mate in late summer or early fall but females store the sperm until spring when they become pregnant about 45 days (gestation). They have 2 pups. They can fly at 3 weeks and are on their own by 5 weeks.Lifespan and/or Conservation Status
They live up to 8 years in the wild. They are not a threatened species.
Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
- Class: Mammalia
- Order: Chiroptera
- Family: Vespertilionidae
- Subfamily: Vespertilioninae
- Genus: Pipistrellus
- Species: Pipistrellus subflavus