Long-eared Myotis

Fascinating facts about the Long-eared Myotis

• A long-eared myotis's ears are nearly as long as its entire body—roughly 40 millimetres of pure antenna for sound. These aren't just oversized; they're engineered funnels that can swivel independently to triangulate a moth's position in absolute darkness, allowing the bat to pluck insects mid-flight with pinpoint accuracy. The ears are so sensitive they can detect the wingbeat of a mosquito from 3 metres away.
• Despite weighing only 3–6 grams (less than a penny stack), this bat hunts from the canopy down to the forest floor—a vertical range of up to 40 metres in a single night. Most bats stick to one hunting altitude; long-eared myotis are vertical foragers, switching zones to follow insect activity as it shifts with temperature and time. It's a hunting strategy that lets one bat exploit what would be three different territories for other species.
• In winter, long-eared myotis disappear into hibernacula—caves, mines, and cliff crevices—where they lower their body temperature to within 1–2 degrees of the rock around them and slow their heart from 400 beats per minute to fewer than 10. A single bat can sleep in the same spot for 200 consecutive days without waking, surviving on stored fat reserves smaller than a jellybean. If disturbed during hibernation, the energy cost of rewarming can be fatal.
• Female long-eared myotis give birth to a single pup in June after a 50-day pregnancy, and that pup is weaned and flying within 4 weeks—a growth rate that requires the mother to consume half her body weight in insects every night. By autumn, the juvenile is indistinguishable from an adult and must pack on enough fat to survive 7 months without food. Most don't make it; survival to age one is roughly 50 percent.
• Long-eared myotis moths are so attuned to predation that many have evolved ears of their own—simple hearing organs on their wings that detect the sonar clicks of an incoming bat. When a moth hears the signature frequency of a myotis echolocation call, it performs an evasive dive and corkscrewing flight pattern. This arms race between hunter and hunted has shaped both species for millions of years; the bat's call frequency and the moth's hearing have co-evolved in lock-step.

At a glance

About the Long-eared Myotis

In the velvety darkness of a summer evening, the Long-eared Myotis unfurls its delicate wings, a whispered promise of aerial acrobatics to come. As it takes to the skies, its oversized ears twitching with every faint rustle, this diminutive bat navigates the intricate tapestry of sound and shadow with effortless ease, its very existence a testament to the magic that unfolds beneath the radar of our waking world. With each deft, darting maneuver, the Long-eared Myotis weaves an enchanting spell of wonder, its nocturnal realm a mystical domain of mystery and enchantment.

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