Western barbastelle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barbastelle Temporal range: Pleistocene – Recent
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Barbastella
Species:	barbastellus
Range of B. barbastella     Resident     Extinct     Presence Uncertain

The western barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) is a type of bat found in Europe. It is also called the barbastelle or barbastelle bat. These bats live across a wide area, from Portugal in the west to Azerbaijan in the east, and from Sweden in the north to the Canary Islands in the south.

Barbastelle bats have a short nose, small eyes, and wide ears. Sadly, their numbers are decreasing in many places. They are considered "near threatened," "vulnerable," "critically endangered," or even "extinct" in different parts of their home range.

About the Barbastelle Bat

Naming the Bat

The western barbastelle was first described as a new species in 1774 by a scientist named Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber. He gave it the name Vespertilio barbastellus. Later, in 1897, another scientist, Gerrit Smith Miller Jr., gave it its current scientific name, Barbastella barbastellus.

The name Barbastella barbastellus might come from Latin words. Barba means "beard" and stella means "star." If you look at the bat from the side, its upper lip can look like it has a beard or a mustache.

Different Types of Barbastelle Bats

Scientists recognize two main groups, or subspecies, of the western barbastelle:

• Barbastella barbastellus barbastellus: This group lives across western Europe, reaching as far as the Caucasus mountains. Some smaller groups are also found in Morocco.
• Barbastella barbastellus guanchae: This group is special because it is only found on the islands of Tenerife and La Gomera in the Canary Islands, Spain.

Scientists have studied their DNA to confirm these differences. They found that the bats in the Canary Islands are unique. They also found that bats in places like Spain and Morocco are quite similar to each other.

What the Barbastelle Looks Like

The barbastelle is a medium-sized bat. It has a unique nose that looks a bit pushed in, like a pug dog's nose. Its ears are wide and are connected across its head by skin. The back of its ears are covered in reddish-brown fur.

A small part inside its ear, called the tragus, is shaped like a triangle. Barbastelles are about 40 to 55 millimeters (about 1.5 to 2 inches) long from head to body. Their wings can spread out between 26 and 29 centimeters (about 10 to 11.5 inches). Their forearm (a part of their wing) is about 3.5 to 4.5 centimeters long. These bats usually weigh between 6 and 13 grams, which is about as much as a few paperclips.

Barbastelle Life and Habits

Illustration of roosting barbastelles

Where They Live

Barbastelle bats like to live in forests, especially those with older deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves). They often roost, or rest, in cracks in trees or behind loose tree bark. They also use rock cracks and sometimes human buildings. In Italy, they prefer tall, dead beech trees in untouched forests.

These bats often move between different roosting spots. Even though they stay in the same general area, they change their specific resting places very often.

When winter comes, barbastelles move to underground places to hibernate. These winter homes can be natural caves, basements, old mines, or bunkers. They can handle cold conditions well. You often find them hibernating in cold spots, sometimes even in open areas.

What They Eat and How They Hunt

Barbastelles mainly eat moths, but they also eat flies. Studies in Switzerland showed that moths make up about 99% of their diet. They especially like to hunt medium-sized and larger moths. However, their diet can change in the autumn. This might be because other bats are also hunting, or because there are fewer large moths flying around.

The barbastelle's diet is one of the most specific among European bats. This means they rely heavily on moths. If moth populations decrease, it can be very hard for these bats to find enough food. This might be why they are so rare in many places.

Even though they hunt just above the forest treetops, barbastelles hunt like other bats that catch insects in the air. This special way of hunting might have developed over time as moths evolved ways to protect themselves from bats.

These bats can travel far to find food, sometimes up to 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) in one night. Female bats that are not raising babies tend to travel further for food than those that are.

Life Cycle and Reproduction

Barbastelle bats become adults and can have babies after one or two years. They start mating in late summer, sometimes during large gatherings of bats. Mating usually finishes when they begin their winter hibernation. However, some bats have been seen mating in late winter or early spring.

Around May or June, a pregnant female barbastelle usually gives birth to one or two babies. She feeds her young milk for about six weeks.

How They Use Sound (Echolocation)

Barbastelles use special sounds, called echolocation calls, to find their way around and hunt in the dark. They have two main types of calls.

• Call Type 1: These sounds are usually between 30 and 38 kilohertz (kHz). They are strongest at 33 kHz and last about 2.5 milliseconds.
• Call Type 2: These sounds are between 29 and 47 kHz. They are strongest at 38 kHz and last about 4.1 milliseconds.

These sounds bounce off objects, and the bats listen to the echoes to create a "sound map" of their surroundings.

Where Barbastelles Are Found

The western barbastelle is rare and its numbers are often going down across the areas where it lives. Some old records from the 1800s suggested they were in Senegal, but this information is now thought to be incorrect.

Here are some places where barbastelles have been found:

• Albania: Only a few barbastelles have been seen here. They were found in 2005 near a national park known for its beech forests.
• Belgium: Barbastelle bats are known to live in the Sonian Forest in Belgium.
• Ireland: This species was once reported in Ireland in 1997. However, later studies showed that the sounds heard were likely from a different bat species, and barbastelles are probably not found in Ireland.
• Montenegro: They are present in Montenegro during the summer. They can be found at different heights, from low areas near the sea to high mountains.
• Netherlands: The barbastelle has not been seen in the Netherlands since 1984, meaning it is now extinct there.
• Norway: It was thought that barbastelles had disappeared from Norway, with only a few sightings before 1949. But they were found again in 2004 and 2008!
• United Kingdom: In Britain, only a few places are known where barbastelles raise their young. These include Paston Great Barn in Norfolk, parts of Exmoor and the Quantock Hills in Devon and Somerset, Wimpole Wood in Cambridgeshire, and other specific woodlands. You can find a map of their distribution in the UK on the National Biodiversity Network website here.

Protecting the Barbastelle Bat

The western barbastelle is a protected species in the European Union under something called the Habitats Directive. This means that places where these bats live and roost might be made into special protected areas. This bat is also listed in the Berne Convention and is a focus of the UNEP-EUROBATS agreement. Many countries also have their own laws to protect this bat and its homes.

To help people understand how important it is to protect this bat across Europe, the organization BatLife Europe chose the barbastelle as the "Bat Species of the Year" for 2020-2021.

Conservation Status

Globally, the barbastelle is listed as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List. This means it could become endangered in the future if we don't protect it. In Europe and the European Union, it is considered "vulnerable." In the Mediterranean region, it is also "near threatened."

See also

In Spanish: Murciélago de bosque para niños