Field Guide/Mammals/Tri-colored Bat (Eastern Pipistrelle)

Perimyotis subflavus (Tri-colored Bat)

Family: Vespertilionidae Size: Tri colored bat has a total length of 2.9-3.5 inches (73.66-88.9mm). With wings spread, it has a length of 8-10 inches wide (203.2-254mm). It weighs from 5-8 grams (.005-.008kg). Description: Tri-colored bats are seen with yellowish, grayish brown, reddish brown fur color. They have pink ears, face, and skin. Some of this specie has fur on their tails and some has light fur on theirs. Along with that, it is a weak flier. Similar Species: Another specie that can be mistaken as a tri-colored bat is a mouse-eared bat. Mouse-eared bats have dark brown or black skins. Tri-colored bat have more of a short and round ear. Range: Tri-colored bats live in the central and western parts of the United States, western Canada, and the western part of Mexico. This specie is spotted all over Minnesota but mostly in the south western part of this state. Habitat: Caves, mines, tunnels, buildings, and edge of forests (trees) are where this specie lives. Diet: Tends to eat all insects such as moths, flies, beetles, mosquitoes, midges, bugs, and ants. Activity: Usually they are the first bats to hibernate in the fall and first to wake up from hibernation after winter. They cannot stand up to the cold and so they hibernate in warm areas such as deep in caves and mines. Tricolored bats are active in the daytime and sleeps/hides in the early evenings. Reproduction: Tri colored bats mate during the fall season and the female usually gives birth in spring to two twins. The young are born with hairless and closed eyes. They tend to grow super fast and after 4 weeks to a month, the young tri-colored bat learns to fly. When the young is 5-6 weeks old, it becomes independent to live its own life. Lifespan: Tri colored bats lives from an average of 10-15 years of age. Notes: Tri colored bats are rarely noticed because of their small sizes, fast turns, and blending in with the dark evening sky. The only way to spot them is if they fly in groups scattering around.

Tri-colored Bat