Bechstein's Bat (Myotis bechsteinii) lives in european temperate forests across Southern Europe and Asia. Its conservation status is Near Threatened.
Fascinating facts about the Bechstein's Bat
- When forests disappear, it swaps meals. Bechstein's bat feeds chiefly on flying prey such as moths, dipterans, neuropterans and other small nocturnal insects. Populations cut off from forest land are recorded to shift to a diet of terrestrial insects and spiders caught from the ground. Bechstein's bats typically forage within one or two kilometers of their roost.
- In the United Kingdom, Bechstein's bat occurs chiefly in southeastern Great Britain, which has been called the northernmost extent of its range. It estimated that 21,600 individuals exist in the whole region, but the true population size is difficult to estimate and three potential error sources have been identified in this estimate and as such a range of 10,300 and 55,600 individuals is provided. In 2010 a lactating female Bechstein's was discovered in Grafton Wood, suggesting a breeding colony nearby.
- A half-mile tunnel will guard its night flights as a new rail line cuts through its home. A bat protection structure in the form of a tunnel approximately half a mile long is to be built to prevent the Bechstein's bats known to roost in the woodland from colliding with the trains. The projected cost of the structure is £100 million. Bechstein's bat is protected under the European Habitats Directive, so this expensive safeguard reflects the legal weight of preserving a species that depends on old-growth trees and cannot thrive in open landscapes.
- Its wingspan measures up to 30 cm (11.8 in.) and it has a head-to-body length of 5 cm (1.9 in). This size lets it catching insects on the wing while staying agile enough to slip into narrow tree-hole roosts.
- The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 35 and 108 kHz. Its echolocation calls have the most energy at 61 kHz, and have an average duration of 3.3 ms. Most of its echolocation is in the 50-60 kHz range.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSouthern Europe and Asia
HabitatEuropean temperate forests
DietInsects and moths
About the Bechstein's Bat
In the warm, golden light of dusk, Bechstein's bat emerges from its hidden world, a delicate, dark silhouette unfolding its leathery wings to take to the evening skies. With a slow, languid beat, it navigates the forest's intricate tapestry, its high-pitched calls echoing through the trees as it pursues the insect prey that sustains it. As it flits and weaves, its remarkable agility and stealth are a testament to the enduring elegance of this nocturnal hunter, a creature of whispered secrets and moonlit mysteries.
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