24 Thomas M. Padgett and Robert K. Rose 



record of this bat is a pregnant female collected northeast of the Dismal 

 Swamp in May 1954 (de Rageot 1955). It is not known whether that 

 animal flew there or accidentally reached the area by ship (Handley 

 1979a). The northern yellow bat is generally associated with Spanish 

 moss, Tillandsia usneoides, which is rare in the Dismal Swamp but does 

 occur in Seashore State Park in Virginia Beach, less than 15 km from 

 where the specimen was collected by de Rageot. 



Perhaps the most sought-after species of bat in the region is 

 Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Plecotus rafinesquii macrotis Lesson. None 

 were collected during our survey. At present, only one specimen has 

 been reported from Virginia. It was taken in 1897 near Lake Drummond, 

 where big-eared bats supposedly resided in hollow cypress trees (Handley 

 1979a). Recent circumstantial evidence suggests that this rare species 

 still resides in the vicinity. In September 1984, a specimen was discovered 

 on the grille of an automobile in the Pungo section of Virginia Beach, 

 east of the Dismal Swamp. Although the specimen was discarded, 35- 

 mm color slides of the animal were identified as being Rafinesque's big- 

 eared bat by C. O. Handley, Jr. (personal communication). On 4 June 

 1989, another specimen of Rafinesque's big-eared bat was photographed 

 and released by D. Schwab (personal communication) less than 2 km W 

 of the GDSNWR. The recent collection of several specimens of 

 Rafinesque's big-eared bat in Merchants Mill Pond State Park, Gates 

 Co., N.C., within 30 km of the Dismal Swamp (Clark et al. 1985), as 

 well as the specimen photographed by D. Schwab, suggests that the 

 species probably inhabits the Dismal Swamp. Despite a paucity of 

 information, the status of Rafinesque's big-eared bat has been changed 

 from status undetermined (Handley 1979b) to endangered by the 

 Commonwealth of Virginia. 



Although we did not collect all of the species believed to occur in 

 the Dismal Swamp, we did document the occurrence of four species of 

 bats not previously recorded there, and we verified the continued 

 presence of three other species not seen there for 24 to 90 years. No 

 Myotis were taken in the Dismal Swamp in 77 collecting days. Male red 

 bats and silver-haried bats were active throughout the winter when the 

 temperature was greater than 10°C and 13°C, respectively. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.— We thank the staff of the Great Dismal 

 Swamp National Wildlife Refuge for their support and assistance; C. O. 

 Handley, Jr., for verifying the identifications of the bats we collected; 

 and M. K. Garrett, S. Powell, D. Schwab, L. Swanner, and R. Trimyer, 

 all of whom expended vast quantities of munitions during the course of 

 our survey. 



