Buffy flower bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Buffy flower bat |
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The buffy flower bat (Erophylla sezekorni) is a cool type of bat that lives in warm places like the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica. It belongs to a group of bats called leaf-nosed bats because of their unique nose shape.
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What Does It Look Like?
The buffy flower bat is a medium-sized bat. However, compared to other bats in its group, it's actually one of the bigger ones! Its fur is special because it has two colors. The hairs closest to its body are white, and the tips of the hairs are brown.
Its head and face are covered in short, white fur. This bat has a long snout that curves up towards its forehead. It's called a "flower bat" because its nose looks a bit like a flower!
Bat Families and Babies
Scientists don't know a lot about how buffy flower bats mate. Many bats have a "harem" system. This means one male bat lives with many female bats in a single roosting spot. But the buffy flower bat is a bit different. About the same number of male and female bats often live together.
Mating happens in December. When it's time to find a partner, the bats create a special area in their roost. The male bats will spend a few hours showing off. They hang from the ceiling and flap their wings. Sometimes they flap one wing at a time, and sometimes both together. They also fly in very tight circles. Not all males display, but those who do tend to have more babies.
After mating, the mother bat carries her baby for about 4 to 6 months. In June, she gives birth to just one pup. She will feed her baby milk until the end of August.
What Do Buffy Flower Bats Eat?
Buffy flower bats eat a mix of different foods. They enjoy nectar from flowers, fruit, and insects. Fruit is the biggest part of their diet.
Scientists looked at their droppings to see what they ate. They found that half of the bats had eaten all three types of food in one night! The other half ate two of the three. The insects they eat are mostly beetles. They also munch on flies, bees, and moths.
Tiny Hitchhikers
The buffy flower bat is a main home for a tiny creature called a mite. This mite is named Periglischrus cubanus. Mites are very small, like tiny spiders. These mites live on the bat's wing membrane and feed on the bat's blood.
These tiny hitchhikers are passed from mother bats to their babies. When a baby bat is drinking milk from its mother, the mite can unlatch from the mother's wing. It uses tiny hooks to let go and fall onto the baby. Then, it latches onto the baby and starts feeding on its blood. This is a type of parasitism, where one creature lives off another.
