The Spooky Big Brown Bat

Photo copyright Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International

Brown Bat Photo Courtesy of: James F. Parnell
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GLOSSARY
Echolocation	The process of locating an object by measuring the time a sound wave takes to travel to and from the object.
Hibernate	To pass the winter in a resting state.
Insectivore	An animal that fees on insects.
Mammal	Animals that nourish their young with milk, and that have hair on their skin.
Membrane	A thin, soft, pliable layer of skin.
Nocturnal	Active at night.
Roosting Sites	The places chosen for resting and protection.
Tragus	The flap of skin at the opening of the ear.
Wingspan	The length of wings from their outermost tips.

Bats are the only mammals that are able to fly. Their wings have no feathers ? they are made up of a dark brown membrane, sort of like stretchy skin. A bat’s wing is actually its arm. The forward tip of the wing has a “thumb” which is used in crawling and holding while roosting.

The big brown bat is normally between 4 and 6 inches long, with a wingspan between 12 and 13 inches. It has silky, dark brown fur on its back and lighter brown fur on its underside. The male bats are usually a little smaller than the females.

Big brown bats are insectivores, which means they eat bugs. Their 32 teeth are all quite sharp so they can catch and hold onto insects while they are flying. The big brown bat benefits farmers by eating many types of destructive insects, such as the cucumber beetle and June beetle.

Many homeowners and a number of Ohio State Parks provide bat boxes to help promote a healthy population. Bats help “Fight the Bite” by feasting on pesky mosquitoes. A bat can eat its own weight in bugs each night!

All bats use echolocation to find their way around and to find food. Echolocation means sending out a very high-pitched sound that bounces back when it hits something. When the sound waves bounce back to the bat’s ear, it can tell how far away and how big the object is. Bats have large ears that have an extra flap of skin called the tragus. It is believed that the tragus helps with echolocation. They also make a variety of squeaks and squeals to communicate with each other.

During the day, bats rest in roosting sites that can be located anywhere that is dark and cool, from holes in trees or in caves, to the undersides of bridges or buildings. Male and female big brown bats roost separately in bachelor roosts (for the males) or nursery roosts for the females and babies).

Bats hibernate in the winter, meaning they sleep through the cold weather. They only come out of their hibernation roosts occasionally on warm winter days, when the temperature gets above 60 degrees F. Then, the bats only briefly fly around looking for bugs.

If you happen to see a bat while it is resting, please leave it alone. Remember that it is resting to do a very important job!