THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 692.— February, 1899. 



WHISKERED BAT (MYOTIS MYSTACINUS) IN 

 CAPTIVITY. 



By Charles Oldham. 



The observation of Bats in a free state is, owing to their 

 nocturnal habits and peculiar mode of life, a matter of con- 

 siderable difficulty, and but very little is known of the economy 

 of even our common British species. Many of their actions may 

 be studied in captivity, but it is not easy to maintain the supply 

 of insect food essential to the welfare of the little creatures, which 

 seldom survive confinement long. These considerations are per- 

 haps sufficient excuse for the publication of the following notes 

 on a Bat which I kept alive for nearly five weeks last winter. 



On Nov. 27th I obtained a male Whiskered Bat, Myotis 

 mystacinus (Leisler), from one of the tunnels of the disused 

 copper mines on Alderley Edge. It would not eat some meal- 

 worms I offered it, although it greedily lapped water from a 

 camel-hair pencil and from the palm of my hand. Five days later, 

 after many unsuccessful attempts to induce the Bat to feed, I pro- 

 cured some moths (Scotosia dubitata) from the copper mines, and 

 placed them in a box with it ; but no attention was paid to them. 

 On the evening of the following day I placed the Bat under a bell- 

 jar with six of the moths, and, on going to look at it an hour after- 

 wards, found that it had caught and eaten them all, rejecting 

 only the wings and legs. The available supply of moths was 

 exhausted in a few days, and I began to despair of keeping my 



Zool. Mh ser. vol. III., February, 1899. e 



