Tag Archives: Bat Species

The Difference Between Big Brown Bats and Little Brown Bats

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Two of the most common microbats found in the surrounding Indiana regions are the Little Brown bat and the Big Brown bat. Although they share sister names, they are quite different from one another in terms of biology. Continue reading to learn some fun and informative facts about both species of microbat, as well as, what you should do if you ever find a bat in the house or other area of your property.

Bat Removal and Control 317-535-4605
Big Brown Bat

Big Brown Bat

The Big Brown bat may look like the Little Brown bat, but they are a different species, and just a tad larger, as the names implies. Adult bats have an average wingspan of 13 to 16 inches, and a body length of 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches. They are a little bigger as you can see! The rest of their biology and behaviors are the same, with just slight differences.

Their fur is the same as Little Brown bats, ranging in colors from dark browns to reddish hues and lighter-colored bellies. Gestation periods and breeding are the same for both species, as well. Females carry their young for 60 days, before giving birth to a single bat pup each year.

Mating season usually begins in early fall, while birthing season starts in May and continues through June. After 14 days in their mother’s care, bat pups are weaned from milk and taught to fly and hunt for insects. In contrast to Little Brown bats, Big Brown bats tend to roost in smaller colonies, ranging from as little as 20 bats, up to 500 or more.

Little Brown Bat

Adult Little Brown bats have an average wingspan of 9 to 11 inches, and a body length of 2 1/2 to 4 inches. They are small! Their fur ranges in colors of dark browns to reddish browns, with lighter-colored, pale tan bellies. Females carry their young for 60 days, before giving birth to a single bat pup each year. Mating season usually begins in early fall, while birthing season starts in May and continues through July.

After 14 days in their mother’s care, bat pups are weaned from milk and taught to fly and hunt for insects. Little Brown bats, like all bats, are nocturnal, which means they are active from dusk until dawn. Generally, this bat species remain in large numbers, with colonies reaching hundreds or even thousands of bats in some regions.

Typically, Little Brown bats roost in hollowed tree cavities, abandoned mines, caves, log piles, and similar private areas. They are a hibernating species, so in winter, they either migrate to winter roosts, or hibernate in caves, rock crevices, storm sewers, and if they can access them, our attics!

As insectivores, Little Brown bats hunt for mosquitoes, gnats, moths, crane flies, beetles, mayflies, and other small flying insects. A single bat can consume more than 1,000 flying bugs in just one night! That is excellent pest control, and it’s free!

Indianapolis Bat Control Assistance

Call 317-535-4605 for safe bat removal services in Indianapolis, Indiana and its surrounding counties. We are DNR licensed wildlife rescue and control professionals who specialize in a wide range of non-lethal residential and commercial bat abatement services. We only use safe and humane methods to extract bats and prevent their return, and offer the most competitive prices in town. Request a free estimate, today.

Indiana Bat Removal 317-535-4605
Indiana Bat Removal 317-535-4605

The Most Noteworthy Facts about Microbats

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Bats are among the most misunderstood creatures across the world. It may be because they hang upside down, or have long pointy teeth; or perhaps it’s the correlation with Dracula and vampires that have given bats such an unfair stereotype. Furthermore, the stigma of rabies and disease cloud society’s perception of bats, which are actually incredible and interesting mammals who play a vital ecological role. Perhaps by learning more about bats, you can clear up any misconceptions you may have had in the past. In fact, you can start right now!

Continue reading to learn some noteworthy facts about Microchiroptera bats.

Indianapolis Bat Removal and Control 317-535-4605

Indianapolis Bat Removal and Control 317-535-4605

🦇 Bats Are the Only Mammal Capable of True Flight.

Many people do not realize that bats are in fact, mammals; and on top of that, the only mammals that can actually fly. They have wings similar to the anatomy of a human hand, with elongated fingers connected by a stretchy membrane. They are amazing during flight. They are fast and swift, using propulsion to push forward using their airfoil thin wings.

🦇 Vampire Bats Do Not Actually “Suck” Blood.

Three species of vampire bats are known to exist around the world. These three species of bats do not actually “suck” blood from other mammals. They will, however, lick it up after emitting a bite to a cow or other large warm-blooded animal.

🦇 A Single Bat Can Consume Over 1000 Small Insects in One Hour.

Bats have insatiable appetites and can eat up to 200 tons of insects each night. That is a lot of feeding! They use their echolocating abilities to dive and dart for flying insects with acute precision.

🦇 Bats are Not Blind, But Use Echolocation to Navigate the Dark and Hunt for Prey.

Bats are not blind, but they do not have great vision, especially in the dark. But in the dark is when they are awake and busy, so they have to use other methods of communication and navigation to get around. This is called echolocation. Bats emit beeps and then listen for the beep to bounce back off of a solid structure. Then they know where they are.

🦇 Hibernating Species of Bats Like to Show Off During Mating Season.

Hibernating species of microbat will put on an annual flying show, showing off their agile flying and acrobatic skills in an attempt to court female bats. They will fly in huge swarms, darting and dipping, and performing impressive aerobatics. Once the show dies down, bats will couple up and find seclusion to mate. Although it is not yet proven whether or not female bats prefer more agile males, because of this fascinating phenomenon it is certainly a theory among researchers.

🦇 Bat Species Makes Up Nearly 25% of All Mammals.

There are more than 900 species of bats in the world, all broken up into different categories and classifications. The Chiroptera Order is the first class in which bats are categorized. From there they are split into suborders, genera, and then species.

Indianapolis Bat Removal and Control

Indiana Bat Removal 317-535-4605

Indiana Bat Removal
317-535-4605

Call 317-535-4605 for prompt and professional Indianapolis bat removal and control you can trust. We are DNR licensed and insured wildlife control contractors that specialize is safe, non-lethal bat exclusion and extraction services. Whether commercial or residential, we are fully-equipped to extract from any property. We also provide 24 emergency bat removal, dead animal removal, bat proofing, attic restoration for bat damages, and more. Request a free estimate, anytime.

Classification and Taxonomy of Bats

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Did you know that bats are the only mammal capable of true flight? They are also one of the only mammals known to consume blood! Bats are fascinating creatures, and fun to learn about. They are found in regions spanning all across the globe, varying in looks, size, diet, navigational traits, and more. Bats are certainly worth a study or two, and can actually teach you a lot about animal understanding and tolerance.

For example, bats have been pushed out of their natural habitats and forced into urban areas due to human over-development; as a result, they are frequently regarded as pests, rodents, and nuisance animals.

But the truth is, bats are an essential part of our surrounding ecosystem, and they play an integral role in mosquito and insect control in our parks and backyards every night. If you are tuned-in and ready to learn about bats, you need to start with the basics. Continue reading to learn the classification and taxonomy of bats.

What are Bats?

Bats are classified by 9 categories in terms of taxonomy. In order from biggest to smallest, these categories include kingdom, phylum, subphylum, class, order, suborder, family, genera, and species. There are two suborders of bats, Microchiroptera Megachiroptera. There are 16 “families” of Microchiroptera bats, but only 1 family of megabats called Pteropodidae. The Pteropodidae includes Old World Fruit Bats and Flying Foxes. And even more interesting, there are 187 “genera” of bats, and over 950 species!

According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), this is the taxonomy of bats is…

I. KINGDOM: Animalia

II. PHYLUM: Chordata

III. SUBPHYLUM: Vertebrata

IV. CLASS: Mammalia

V. ORDER: Chiroptera

VI. SUBORDER: Microchiroptera, Megachiroptera

VII. FAMILY: Noctilionidae, Pteropodidae, Antrozoidae, Vespertilionidae, Rhinopomatidae, Mystacinidae, Craseonycteridae, Molossidae, Emballonuridae, Nycteridae, Megadermatidae, Rhinolophidae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, Natalidae, Furipteridae, Thyropteridae, Myzopodidae

VIII. GENERA: 187 is too many! Click here for a complete list.

IX. SPECIES: Over 950! Click here for a list.

Indianapolis Bat Removal and Control

Call 317-535-4605 for affordable and safe bat removal services in Indianapolis, Indiana. We are DNR licensed and insured bat removal and control technicians with over 30 years of experience in the bat control industry. We offer bat removal, prevention, exclusion, proofing, structural damage repairs, attic restorations, inspections, free estimates, discounts, and more! Call 317-535-4605 to get started toward a bat-free future, today.

Varieties of Bat Species Found in Indiana

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There are twelve known species of bat commonly found in the state of Indiana. Among these twelve bat species, three categories can be defined; separating the species into smaller and more specific classifications. In this blog, we will explore a few of these Indiana bats while still defining the three categories and specifying all twelve species. Continue reading to learn some interested facts about Indiana bats and how they are similar and different from each other in the wild.

Species of Bat in Indiana

The twelve species of bat found in Indiana are as follows: the Big-Eared Bat, Red Bat, Southeastern Bat, Hoary Bat, Gray Bat, Evening Bat, Northern Bat, Silver-Haired Bat, Little Brown Bat, Big Brown Bat, the Pipistrelle Bat, and the popular Indiana Bat. The Big-Eared Bat has mostly migrated out of Indiana, and is not regularly seen here in the state any more but still spotted in other areas. The same goes for the Southeastern Bat.

These twelve bats can be sub classified into three separate groups. The first group is referred to as “Solitary Bats” in the Lasiurus genus, containing the Red Bat, Silver-Haired Bat, and the Hoary Bat. The second group is referred to as “Social Bats” in the Myotis genus, containing the Little Brown Bat, Northern Bat, Indiana Bat, Gray Bat, and the Southeastern Bat. The third group is referred to as the “Social Bats in Other Genera”, containing the Big Brown Bat, the Pipistrelle Bat, the Evening Bat, and the Big-Eared Bat. The solitary bats migrate south in the winter, while others migrate in spring and fall months.

These bats are commonly forced out of their natural habitats due to new construction and land developments. This forces them to find shelter by any means necessary. Common spots include residential attics and crawl spaces, as well as, basements, garages, sheds, and utility rooms. In commercial properties, bats use rooftops, insulation, and insides of walls for shelter, breeding, and nesting. It is important to hire a trusted animal control company to remove bat colonies from residential or commercial properties in a safe and humane way.

For more information about bat removal in Indianapolis, Indiana and its surrounding areas, call 317-535-4605 today. Our licensed and experienced animal control technicians use safe and humane methods to capture and release bats far from your property. We offer free estimates, information, DIY advice, references, and more. Visit our website at http://www.batremovalindianapolis.com for details about our services and company background. For fast, effective, and affordable bat removal services in Indianapolis, IN, call our experts at 317-535-4605 today!