Florida Evening Bat

The evening bat is very similar in appearance to the big brown bat only it is smaller in size.

Florida evening bat. I have dozens of good evening bat photos so email me if you want any of them. In autumn evening bats in their northern range will migrate south to warmer climates. Females are larger than males. This species closely resembles the big brown bat but is smaller in size.

It is a small bat. Evening bats are also commonly seen throughout the southern part of florida with the exception of the florida keys. Evening bats form small colonies or groups that range from a few to as many as 100 individuals. Nycticeius humeralis photo chris burney.

Adult weight ranges from about 0 2 to 0 4 ounces 7 to 14 grams. A colony of 100 bats can consume over 1 25 million insects a season kurta 2001. The evening bat is a small bat 7 15 grams found throughout much of the midwestern and eastern united states their forearms are 34 38 mm 1 33 in in length. If a solitary bat is unsuccessful it will follow a group of bats to the food source.

10 11 inches body length. Evening bats have short black narrow wings and blunt rounded ears. It has short dark ears and the muzzle is broad unfurred and nearly black. The fur of evening bats is typically dark brown but may be tinted bronze.

Evening bats feed on beetles moths flies and leafhoppers that they are able to catch in midair during slow steady flight. Each female has her young in mid april. The tip of each dorsal hair is a light gray and one to two thirds of the basal is dark brown. Evening bats are common throughout florida except in the keys.

I think this bat is pretty good looking compared to other bats such as the free tail. At first glance an evening bat may be confused with the large brown bat as they share similar features in the facial area however the evening bat is considerably smaller in size. Evening bats are known to roost in palm fronds in florida. The fur of the evening bat is usually a dark brown but may also have a bronze to reddish tint.

They often roost in colonies in houses and other buildings and because of this are sometimes considered a nuisance. The evening bat is one of florida s two primary species of colonizing bats. Evening bats will form colonies of several to about eighty bats and have been found in buildings and other man made structures. The wingspan of adult evening bats measures about 10 or 11 inches and body length measures about 1 9 to 2 6 inches.