Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) lives in temperate woodland areas across Europe and North Asia. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Common Pipistrelle
- In 1999 the common pipistrelle was split into two species because their echolocation calls differ in frequency. The split recognised the soprano pipistrelle as a separate taxon, which also shows an 11 % genetic divergence from the common form. Although distinct, the two species can still interbreed, as hybrids have been recorded in Poland. This taxonomic revision clarified that the two bats, once thought identical, are genetically and acoustically separate lineages.
- The common pipistrelle emits a call centred on 45 kHz, whereas the soprano pipistrelle uses a higher-pitched 55 kHz signal. Both species operate within a broader echolocation range of 45 to 76 kHz, with most acoustic energy concentrated at 47 kHz. Each pulse lasts on average 5.6 ms, allowing precise detection of insect prey. This frequency distinction was the primary evidence that prompted the 1999 taxonomic split.
- Males carve out courtship arenas roughly 200 m across and defend them from mid-July through the end of October, with the most intense activity in September. These territories are densely packed and males "sing" while patrolling, offering females a lek-like selection of mates near winter roosts. The system provides females with multiple options before autumn mating, after which fertilisation is delayed until after hibernation.
- The bats are deployed inside the historic Biblioteca Joanina to patrol the interior for flying insects that could damage the books. Their natural diet of flies, mosquitoes, midges and other small insects makes them ideal biological pest control agents. By hunting along the library's interior edges they mimic their usual edge-foraging habit, keeping the manuscript collections free from pest damage.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeEurope and North Asia
HabitatTemperate woodland areas
DietInsects & flies
About the Common Pipistrelle
In the crepuscular hush, the Common Pipistrelle stirs, its delicate form unfolding like a whispered secret as it takes to the evening skies. With a flutter of leathery wings, it dances through the twilight, its high-pitched calls echoing like a chorus of tiny silver bells as it pursues the swirling clouds of insects that sustain it. As it flits and weaves, its large, dark eyes drinking in the fading light, this diminutive bat embodies the very essence of nocturnal elegance.
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