O’SHEA, CRYAN & BOGAN: UNITED STATES BAT SPECIES OF CONCERN 
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A diverse diet also was found based on fecal analysis of 44 bats captured during fall swarm¬ 
ing at abandoned mine entrances in oak forests of the New River Gorge National River in south¬ 
ern West Virginia (Johnson and Gates, 2007). Lepidopterans were an important component of the 
diet in autumn at New River Gorge, but six other orders of insects also were found: dipterans, 
coleopterans, hymenopterans, psocopterans, neuropterans, and hemipterans in decreasing order of 
proportional volume and frequency (Johnson and Gates, 2007). Additional study of the diet on a 
larger sample of 77 eastern small-footed myotis in northeastern West Virginia near the Maryland 
border confirmed the importance of lepidopterans (found in the diet of females more often than in 
males), followed by coleopterans and dipterans, with lesser proportional frequencies of several 
other groups (Johnson et al., 2012c). 
Roosting Habits. — Winter Roosts: Eastern small-footed myotis are known to hibernate in 
caves during winter. They are reported to enter hibemacula late in the season and to leave early rel¬ 
ative to other species; the species often is found in colder (sometimes at sub-freezing temperatures) 
and drier areas of caves than other species and may shift locations within a winter, perhaps forag¬ 
ing during warm spells (Mohr, 1936, 1942; Hitchcock, 1949, 1965; Fenton, 1972). At some winter 
hibemacula they seem to roost primarily alone, with three bats the largest cluster reported in Penn¬ 
sylvania caves by Mohr (1936); in contrast, a compact cluster of as many as 35 hibernating indi¬ 
viduals was reported wedged in a small crevice at a cave in Ontario, Canada (Hitchcock, 1949). 
Occasionally individuals may hibernate in contact with other species of bats (Fenton, 1972). 
In Pennsylvania, Mohr (1942) first observed these bats hibernating in caves in 1931 and sub¬ 
sequently banded 198 out of 272 hibernating at three caves in the central part of the state from 1933 
to 1942. He found only one case of a movement between caves, and this was attributable to rock 
fall at the original hibemaculum (Mohr, 1936,1942). Mohr (1936) noted that he searched over 100 
caves in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for hibernating bats but found eastern small-footed myotis 
in only seven caves, mainly in central Pennsylvania. Krutzsch (1966) surveyed two Pennsylvania 
caves during winters 1960-1962 that were previously surveyed by Mohr (1936). He observed one 
to three individuals clinging to rock walls during each of five visits. In West Virginia, Kmtzsch 
(1966) also surveyed two caves during winter months and observed up to 15 individuals, most scat¬ 
tered along cave walls or in small crevices near the entrances (26 were observed at one cave in 
early spring). They also have been reported hibernating a short distance inside a cave entrance in 
Massachusetts (Veilleux, 2007). 
Caves used as hibemacula in western Maryland were surveyed during winters 1979-1981 by 
Gates et al. (1984). Searches of about 49 caves during winter yielded records of just two hibernat¬ 
ing eastern small-footed myotis (one each at two caves) compared with 1,087 sightings of four 
other hibernating species (Gates et al., 1984). Allen (1939) reported them hibernating solitarily and 
in pairs in small crevices within a cave in Vermont. In New York, they were found hibernating in 
an old mine beneath fallen rock slabs in three groups: two males, three males, and four males with 
five females; one to 14 bats were also observed hanging singly from the ceiling at multiple visits 
during the same winter (Martin et al., 1966). In two other New York mines, solitary bats and groups 
of up to 30 were observed hanging from ceilings in hibernation, some over water (Martin et al., 
1966). 
Eastern small-footed myotis have been found roosting on or near cave floors under rocks or in 
crevices (including one in clay) during winter in West Virginia (Davis, 1955; Kmtzsch, 1966), New 
York (Martin et al., 1966), and Arkansas (McDaniel et al., 1982). Most of these observations were 
of solitary bats, but a group of nine also was observed (Martin et al., 1966). Tuttle (1964) also 
reported an individual roosting near the floor of a cave used as a hibemaculum in Tennessee, as 
well as three hanging solitarily from the ceiling of the same cave. Five (four males, one female) 
