THE CAROLINA BAT 



163 



When they are plentiful, some species of this family 

 live for a great part of the year in troops counting 

 several hundreds each and inhabiting great caverns. 



After the pairing season, the females separate from 

 the males and carry on their maternal duties in per- 

 manent " mothers' meetings.'' The males carry on a 

 club life by themselves till their spouses have sent off the 

 little ones, who can soon take care of themselves. 

 Thereupon society life is again resumed. This cannot be 

 said to be a universal custom, however, for one of the 



Fig. 40. 



THE MEGADERMA LYRA. 



largest Indian species seems usually to dwell in pairs. This 

 kind is also remarkable for being less nocturnal than most 

 of its congeners, as it commences its flight early in the 

 evening, and generally careers about not more than thirty 

 feet above the ground. It seems, indeed, that it is the 

 smaller species of insect-feeding bats which fly high, 

 seeking small insects there to be found, while the larger 

 kinds hawk about below, after the large beetles and other 

 large insects which the smaller bats could not manage. 



When these leaf -nosed bats are disturbed, the curious 

 membranes on their noses are kept in constant motion. 



