Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis)

Red Bat, Garret Mountain, New Jersey.
Photograph by Anita Gould. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Red Bat | Lasiurus borealis photo

Red Bat, Garret Mountain, New Jersey.
Photograph by Anita Gould. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

RED BAT FACTS

Description
Red bats are medium sized bats with reddish to yellow-red fur with frosted appearance. This frosted look is because the hairs are white at the tips. Males are redder in color than females. Red bats are beneficial to people and the environment as they help to keep insect populations down.

Size
Total length: 9 - 12cm. Body length: 4 - 5cm. They weigh 7 - 13 g.

Environment
Red bats roost in dense foliage. They hibernate in hollow trees in the northern part of their range.

Food
they capture insects in flight - moths, beetles, flies etc.

Breeding
Two young are born after a gestation period of 80 - 90 days. (litter size can vary from 1 to 4). Newborn bats are hairless and weigh about 1.5 g. The young learn to fly at about five weeks old around the time they are weaned.

Range
southern Canada through Central America and into Chile and Argentina

Notes
Their conservation status is secure.

Classification

Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Vespertilionidae
Genus:	Lasiurus
Species:	borealis
Common Name:	Red Bat

Relatives in same Genus
Western Red Bat (L. blossevillii)
Hoary Bat (L. cinereus)

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