20 Thomas M. Padgett and Robert K. Rose 



pairs. On 12 February 1984, a male and a female were collected at 

 Jericho Lane, and on 15 March 1986, another male and female were 

 collected as they flew together at the Lynn-Badger Ditches intersection. 

 A third pair, but both males, were collected 16 March 1984 on Railroad 

 Ditch. 



The eastern pipistrelle was found throughout the Dismal Swamp. 

 This bat, moth-like in flight and scarcely larger than a cecropia moth, 

 was frequently observed foraging at or above the forest canopy, which 

 made collecting difficult. Although only six were collected (Table 2), it 

 appears to be a common permanent resident of the Dismal Swamp. 



The big brown bat was most frequently found in the vicinity of 

 Lake Drummond, where two specimens were collected as they emerged 

 from hollow bald cypress trees, and west of the lake on Interior and 

 West ditches. One specimen also was taken on Lynn Ditch, north of the 

 lake. 



The red bat, with 50 specimens, was most numerous (Table 2). Red 

 bats were active throughout the sampling period whenever the mean 

 temperature was >10°C. However, once (25 January) we collected three 

 males when the temperature was only 7°C. During autumn and winter 

 the population of red bats consisted entirely of males. Females were 

 taken only during the months of March and April (N = 8; Table 2). The 

 males (N = 42) were collected from September through June. 



We collected 17 evening bats, Nycticeius humeralis Rafinesque, 

 making them second in abundance. None were seen or collected during 

 December and January, when we presume they were dormant. We 

 believe that the evening bat is a permanent resident throughout the 

 Dismal Swamp. 



The remaining two species, the hoary bat and the Seminole bat, are 

 considered rare in the vicinity of the Dismal Swamp. Both are believed 

 to be highly migratory species, especially the hoary bat (Barbour and 

 Davis 1969). The one hoary bat was taken in the northwest corner of 

 the GDSNWR (Jericho and Hudnell ditches) at 1711 hours on 22 

 November 1983, at an ambient temperature of 1 1°C. The one Seminole 

 bat, probably also a migrant, was taken at the mouth of Jericho Ditch 

 at Lake Drummond at 1745 hours (45 minutes before sunset) on 6 

 October 1983, at an ambient temperature of 24° C (Padgett 1987). 



Red bats changed their patterns of emergence during the year (Fig. 

 1). Although there was no significant correlation between time of 

 emergence and the ambient temperature on an annual basis (r = 0.054, P 

 - 0.90), temperature did appear to play a role in the activity patterns of 

 red bats on a seasonal basis. From September through November, red 

 bats foraged after sunset. As the winter progressed, they emerged and 

 foraged earlier, and by March and April, emergence times coincided 



