Tricolored bat
ExplorePerimyotis subflavus
Type: mammal
Status:
Species Guide
Tricolored bat
Perimyotis subflavus
Species Type: mammal
Conservation Status:
IDENTIFICATION
This bat, formerly called the eastern pipistrelle, is the only member of its genus. It is a small bat, measuring about 2 inches in body length (up to 3.4 inches including the tail) and weighing up to 8 grams. Its fur is yellowish brown, with a namesake tri-coloration that comes from the individual hairs on the bat's back, which are dark at the base and tip and yellowish brown in the middle. This trait distinguishes the species from other small bats of eastern North America, whose back hairs are generally light-colored with dark only at the base. The tricolored bat's belly fur is a uniform yellow-brown. Its black wing membranes contrast with orange-red forearms. Its wingspan is 8-10 inches. In flight, tricolored bats are slow and fluttery, almost moth-like. Females are slightly larger than males.
Distribution & Habitat
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
The tricolored bat is found throughout most of the forested regions of the eastern United States, plus southernmost Ontario and Nova Scotia and even along the Gulf coast of Mexico. It is one of the most common bat species in these areas.
Tricolored bats are often the first to appear along the forest edge at dusk. They can be seen foraging for food over or near water. Day roosts in summer are typically found in tree crevices and beneath loose bark. Less frequently, tricolored bats have been discovered in a variety of other accommodations, including rock crevices, caves, and even buildings. In winter, they hibernate underground in caves and abandoned mines, where temperatures and humidity levels are stable. Suitable hibernacula are rare, so the bats very often return to the same site year after year – even to the same favorable microhabitat within it. Tricolored bats are one of the first species to enter hibernation in the fall, and the last to emerge in the spring.