98 VESPERTILIONID^— NYCTALUS 



beetle. The latter naturalist has observed the capture of moths 

 of fair size by this bat while on the wing. 



In captivity it will eat raw meat and drink milk, and Mr 

 Whitaker estimates its daily requirements in mealworms, which 

 were in no case pouched, at about five dozen to each bat. One 

 kept in confinement by Mr Moffat, which he fed exclusively 

 on insects for a week, refused various house-flies, as well as the 

 blue-bottle,^ common crane-fly,^ and horse-fly,^ but enjoyed the 

 common volucella. She partook with relish of the honey-bee 

 and of five species of wasp. A humble-bee* and a red-tailed 

 bee^ were eaten, but subsequent specimens of the former were 

 declined. A few small beetles were promptly devoured. 

 Above all, she evinced an extraordinary partiality for the 

 common cockroach, of which she was known to eat nearly a 

 third of her weight in one night. 



" Next to the cockroach, I think her favourite food (among 

 the insects offered) was the honey-bee, when dead ; but she 

 showed the greatest horror when I offered her a living bee, 

 though I held it securely in my hand, and had previously 

 extracted its sting. This was no mere accident, for the 

 experiment was repeated on successive days. In two instances 

 she managed, apparently by a sudden ' flick ' of her tongue, 

 to throw the bee to a distance. At first I was surprised that 

 this nocturnal mammal should so well comprehend the offensive 

 capabilities of a day-flying insect ; but when we remember the 

 common propensity of both ... to take up their abode in 

 hollow trees, it is at once seen to be quite natural that they 

 should know something of each other's powers. The identical 

 ash-tree in which the Hairy-armed Bats now under notice 

 reside has often been occupied by bee-swarms." 



Leisler's Bat has on more than one occasion been taken in 

 houses, for entering which, however, it seems, like the Noctule, 

 to have but little proclivity, its flight being usually high in the 

 air and away from buildings.® There remain many aspects 

 of its life-history in regard to which we possess no informa- 

 tion. In particular, as to its breeding habits, we have almost 



^ Calliphora erythrocefhala. ^ Tipula oleracea. 



^ Hcematopota pluvialis. * Bombus terrestris. ' B. lapidarius. 



" Moffat, Irish Naturalist, 1897, 135 ; Jameson, Irish Naturalist, 1896, 94. 



