California leaf-nosed bat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids California leaf-nosed bat |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Macrotus
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| Species: |
californicus
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The California leaf-nosed bat (Macrotus californicus) is a type of bat found in Mexico and the United States. It belongs to the bat family called Phyllostomidae. These bats naturally live in hot deserts. Sadly, their homes are being lost, which is a threat to them.
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Where They Live
California leaf-nosed bats make their homes in the Sonoran and Mojave Desert. You can find them in the Colorado River valley. This area includes southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. They also live throughout western Mexico. These bats do not travel far or hibernate for winter.
What They Look Like
The California leaf-nosed bat is a small bat. It weighs about 12 to 20 grams. That's like a few grapes! Its wings can spread over 30 centimeters wide. Its body is usually more than 6 centimeters long. These bats are brown.
As their name suggests, they have a special nose. It has a triangular, fleshy growth of skin. This is called a noseleaf. It sticks out above their nose. This bat is the only one in its family in the United States with very large ears. Their ears are usually over 2.5 centimeters long.
These bats are amazing flyers. They can move very well in the air. They have short, wide wings. This helps them fly slowly and save energy. Because of their wings, they don't fly long distances. This is why they don't migrate.
Bat Babies
California leaf-nosed bats have an interesting way of having babies. They breed in the fall. But the baby bats inside them grow very slowly until March. Then, they start growing faster. They are usually born in May or June. It's common for them to have twins!
How Humans Affect Them
Humans can disturb these bats. This is especially harmful in summer. That's when they are raising their young. People bothering them in their cave homes is a big problem.
These bats often live in old, abandoned mines. When old mines are cleaned up or worked on again, it can hurt bat populations. California leaf-nosed bats do not hibernate or migrate. So, the warm mine shafts are very important for them to survive. Especially in the colder northern parts of their range.
Where They Rest (Roosting)
During the day, Macrotus bats rest in caves. They also use deserted mine tunnels and deep rocky shelters. They usually stay within 30 to 80 feet of the entrance. They don't need super dark places. Sometimes, they even rest in tunnels less than 20 feet deep. These spots can be quite bright.
A good resting spot for Macrotus needs to be mostly enclosed. It must also have protection from the weather above. Their roosting rooms are usually large. This gives them lots of ceiling space and room to fly. This way, they can find a good spot to hang while flying.
The coolness of the roost is also important. This is why Macrotus chooses cool caves in hot summers. They like to hang from sloped parts of the ceiling. They can easily grab the rough rock. These bats often rest hanging by only one foot. They use their free foot to scratch or groom their fur. When they do this, their body swings gently.
How They Fly
The flight of the Macrotus bat is amazing. They can move very well in the air. Sometimes they fly fast. But usually, when they are looking for food, their flight is slow and floats. It's also quieter than most bats. When they fly level, their wings make a soft fluttering sound. It's not as sharp as the sounds from other bats' wings.
Their landing is very interesting. The bat flies about six to eight inches below the ceiling. Then, its wings make a strong downward stroke. This pushes the bat upward towards the ceiling. As it gets close, the wings pull back. The bat then rolls over completely. Its back faces downward. Its long legs reach for the ceiling. It grabs on, and its wings give a final beat to steady itself. These landings need very good judgment of speed and distance. They often land among other bats that are close together.
Macrotus bats have two main ways to start flying. They can drop from the ceiling and then fly after a short swoop. Or, they can take off directly from where they are resting. These bats often hover in the air. They do this when looking for food and when flying in their daytime resting spots. Macrotus seems to hover easily. They can hover for several seconds at a time.
What They Eat (Foraging)
This bat is an "insectivore." This means it eats insects. It's a "gleaning" insectivore. This means it catches prey like crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and sphinx moths. It picks them right off the ground or from plants. It doesn't catch them in mid-air.
It uses its large eyes to find prey. But in total darkness, it switches to echolocation. This is like using sound to "see." It usually hunts close to the ground. It uses its excellent eyesight to look for insects. It doesn't land to catch its prey. Instead, it hovers above it and snags it. Then, it carries its prey to an open spot. This could be a porch or an open building. There, it takes the insect apart and eats it.
These bats usually look for food within three feet of the ground. They often drop even closer to the surface. There, they can hover for a few seconds. Even bats released during the day flew quite close to the ground. Leaf-nosed bats seem to eat only insects. Their food shows how they hunt.
Some insects they regularly eat are almost certainly taken from the ground or plants. Their stomachs often have orthopteran insects. These include noctuid moths and caterpillars. They also eat beetles from the families Scarabaeidae and Carabidae. Many insects they eat seldom fly, are flightless, or fly during the day. This strongly suggests they eat insects found on the ground or on plants.
Most leaf-nosed bats look for food about one to four hours after sunset. Then, they go to a night resting spot. Each bat seems to have a hunting period of about one hour before midnight. The most activity in the early morning is between two and a half hours before sunrise and thirty minutes before sunrise. Bats usually start returning to their daytime roosts with full stomachs about two hours before sunrise. The last bats usually return about twenty minutes before sunrise. A group of California leaf-nosed bats can eat up to 250,000 pounds of insects in one night! That's a lot of bugs!
