Wonders of Wildlife: Eastern Red Bat


Eastern Red Bat

Other Common Names: Red bat, Tree bat

Scientific Name: Lasiurus borealis

Found in Alabama: Common statewide

Diet: Carnivore (eats animals)
Eastern red bat
Eastern Red Bat in Flight
Wikimedia - Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren
Click on image to enlarge it











 






Learn more about...
Classification Button
Identification
Adaptations Button
Life Cycle
Habitat Needs
Ecological Role Button
 

Watch our 3-minute video to learn about bat conservation and white-nose syndrome.
YouTube  |  Vimeo 
 


 
CLASSIFICATION
What type of animal am I?
  • I am a vertebrate (an animal with a spine or backbone).
  • I am warm-blooded, so I can control my body temperature.
  • I have hair/fur on the outside of my body that keep me warm.
  • I breathe with lungs just like you.
  • I have 2 legs.
  • I have wings.
Scientists use basic traits to group animals into different taxonomic classes.  

For a taxonomic classification chart comparing key traits of common backyard wildlife,
CLICK HERE!
The Eastern Red Bat is a MAMMAL!
 



















 

  
 
IDENTIFICATION TIPS
     

Size: 
  • Range from 3.5-4.5 inches long.
  • Wingspan ranges from 11-13 inches 
  • Weigh less than an ounce
   

Key  Characteristics: 
  • Range in coloration from bright orange-red to orange-brown
  • Distinct section of white fur around the neck 
  • Have a white section of fur near fingertips 
  • Tips of hair have white coloration, giving them a "frosted" appearance.
  • Females appear more pale in color than males. 
Eastern Red Bat
Eastern Red Bat
Wikimedia - Susan Ellis, Bugwoord.org
Click on image to enlarge it
     

Juveniles (young): 
  • Young are similar in appearance to adults but are smaller in size.


 

 
ADAPTATIONS
 
PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS
 
  Eastern Red Bats use echolocation:  
  • Bats hunt for insects by a process called echolocation.
  • During this process, the bats send out a series of high-pitched noises.
  • These noises bounce off the insects and back to the bats.
  • Bats are able to recognize these sounds and use the information to determine the location of the prey.
  • They make different noises for activities such as searching for food, hunting, and social communication with other eastern red bats.
 
  Eastern Red Bats can fly:
  • Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight.
  • A bat's skeleton is lightweight and has special features for the powerful flight.
  • The breastbone contains a keel (a strong bone to which the flight muscles connect).
  • They also have a special membrane (thin layer of skin) connecting their long fingers to create the wing.  This layer of skin is called the patagium.
  • This membrane extends around the bat's tail which is used for steering, braking, and catching insects while flying.
 
  Eastern Red Bats use camouflage: 
  • Eastern red bats roost (a place where they rest) among the leaves of the trees within the forests.
  • Their body size and coloration allow them to easily camouflage (ability to blend in with the surrounding environment) while hanging upside down from the branches.
  • The red coloration resembles the dead leaves of elm, oak, and sycamore trees.
  • By blending in to their surroundings, it makes it more difficult for them to be spotted by predators (animals that eat them).




 
Eastern Red Bat
Eastern Red Bat Patagium
Flickr - U.S. Department of Agriculture
Click on image to enlarge it
 
   
 
BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS
 
  Eastern Red Bats are nocturnal:
  • They are active during the night (nocturnal).
 
  Eastern Red Bats avoid cold weather:
  • Eastern red bats are migratory (moving to more northern locations during the spring and summer and traveling south during the colder months).
  • Some individuals may stay in a northern part of their range and go to a state of hibernation (becoming dormant as if in a deep sleep) during the colder months. 
  • Their breathing, heart rate, and temperature are reduced during hibernation just like your breathing and heartbeat slows down while you are asleep.
  • During this time, a bat will find a hollowed-out tree where they will be protected while they are not alert.
























 
 
 
LIFE CYCLE
     
Life Cycle Stages of the Eastern Red Bat
     

Nest: 
  • Females give birth in the roost (area where they rest) usually within tree branches.
Eastern red bat with babies
Eastern Red Bat with Babies
Flickr - Josh Henderson
Click on image to enlarge it
   

Young: 
  • Females give birth to 1-4 young at a time in the spring. 
  • They can have up to two litters per year.
  • When the young are born, they hang hang on to mother using their teeth or feet for around 5 weeks.
     

Life Span: 
  • Average life span is estimated to be around 8-10 years.



 


  
HABITAT NEEDS
 
NATURAL Habitat Needs ADULTS YOUNG
Food
  • Insectivores (eat insects).
  • Feed on moths, beetles, mosquitoes, flies, cicadas, and other night-flying insects.
  • Feed on milk from the mother for around 5 weeks until they are independent and can find food on their own.
Water
  • Drink from sources of fresh water such as a stream, pond, or lake.
  • Obtain hydration from the mother until they are independent.
Shelter
  • Commonly found in hardwood, pine, and mixed forests. 
  • Prefer to live near forest edges. 
  • They roost within the leaves of the trees like sweetgum, elm, maple, and oak. 
  • They will also roost in Spanish moss.
  • Female will carry the young around until they are independent and can forage on their own, usually around 5 weeks.
Places to Raise Young
  • Mother will keep young with her for a few weeks until they are independent. 
  • She will leave them in the roost while she is out hunting insects at night.
  






















 

















 
BACKYARD
Habitat Needs		 ADULTS YOUNG
Food
  • Plant native grasses and wildflowers that attract moths, beetles, mosquitoes, flies, cicadas, and other night-flying insects. 
  • Do not spray pesticides that might harm insect populations.  
  • Providing resources for the mother will indirectly benefit the young.
Water
  • If a fresh source of water is not located nearby, provide a source of fresh water such as a bird bath.
Shelter
  • Do not remove mature, large trees or tree snags (dead or dying trees), or leaf litter which provide safe locations for roosting.
Places to Raise Young
  • Do not remove large trees, tree snags, or leaf litter.
  


 




















 









 

  
ECOLOGICAL ROLE
   
Animals play an important ecological role in the health of habitats and ecosystems.
   

Food   Source: 
  • Young eastern red bats are sometimes eaten by blue jays. 
  • Adult eastern red bats are a food source for sharp-shinned hawks, American kestrels, great horned owls, opossums, foxes, and snakes, especially if they hibernate (become dormant as if in a deep sleep) too close to the ground.
   

Insect   Control: 
  • Eastern red bats are insectivores (eat insects) and consume a large number of night-flying insects. 
  • Bats are beneficial to humans because they help control populations of the insects they eat. 
  • This includes mosquitoes which can carry diseases such as West Nile and malaria that can be transmitted to humans. 
  • Bats also play a role in controlling populations of insects that cause damage to crops.

 


INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS SPECIES
 
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Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Logo
  
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Logo
     
Alabama Plant Atlas Logo
  
Alabama Butterfly Atlas Logo

Best, T. L. and J. L. Dusi. 2014
Mammals of Alabama
The University of Alabama Press
 
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