70 Order CHIROPTERA 



groups and move into "summer" quarters, such as attics, crev- 

 ices and cracks of buildings, and hollows of trees. With the 

 arrival of warm weather, these bats become busy hunters and 

 feed on insects from dusk to dawn. Once one of these bats has 

 its "sights" on an insect, it darts and dives, dips and dodges, 

 until the insect is caught. The bat may either eat the victim 

 while still in flight, or more likely, roost somewhere to eat it. 



The little brown bat frequently is seen in open fields, fig. 2, 

 and may be found in abundance near lakes and other bodies of 

 water. 



Bats of this species arrive at the "summer" colonies early in 

 April. Females are then already pregnant; they produce young 

 between mid-May and mid-July. A female gives birth to a 

 single young, which she carries with her for a few nights and 

 later leaves in the roost while she goes forth to feed. The young 

 is able to fly and fend for itself when about a month old. 

 Toward the end of summer, individuals of this species store up 

 great quantities of fat beneath the skin, to be used during the 

 winter sleep. In the fall they gradually desert the "summer" 

 colonies and by mid-November all have retreated to hibernating 

 quarters. 



Frequently many generations of the little brown bat use the 

 same cave to hibernate in or the same building to roost in during 

 the summer. Bats of this species possess a definite homing in- 

 stinct and will return many miles to their colonies. 



Distribution. — The little brown is the bat most common in 

 Illinois. However, from some localities it is seemingly absent 

 in summer, its place being taken by the evening bat. The Illinois 

 specimens are of the subspecies Alyotis lucifugus lucifugus (Le 

 Conte). The species occurs from Labrador to southern Alaska 

 and southward to southern California, northern Oklahoma, and 

 southern Georgia. 



MYOTIS AUSTRORIPARIUS (Rhoads) 



Southeastern Bat 



Description. — The southeastern bat is of medium size and 

 has large feet. It is grayish brown on the upper parts and pale 

 gray or white on the belly. The hairs of its dense woolly fur 

 lack burnished tips. The nose of a live individual of this species 

 is flesh colored, whereas the noses in other species of Alyotis 



