Silver-haired bats

Silver-haired bats

Order : Chiroptera
Family : Vespertilionidae
Subfamily : Vespertilioninae
Genus : Lasionycteris

Facts about the genus Lasionycteris, the silver-haired bats

Silver-haired bats are one of the earliest bats to emerge as daylight ends and are believed to be one of the slowest-flying bats in North America. (Full text)

Silver-Haired Bats are year-round residents in many regions. (Full text)

The silver-haired bats are migratory, and sometimes migrate in groups. (Full text)

While Lasionycteris is often spoken of as a tree bat, there are records of the animals roosting under bark of dead trees, in buildings, and in fissures in rock ledges (Frum 1953:499-500) *21*. (Full text)

Because the frequency of human encounters with this species is apparently low and the prevalence of rabies in tested silver-haired bats is small, other factors must explain the silver-haired bats' association with human rabies cases. (Full text)

Silver-haired bats are among the most common bats in forested areas of America, most closely associated with coniferous or mixed coniferous and deciduous forest types, especially in areas of Old Growth. (Full text)

The summer distribution of the red, hoary, and silver-haired bats is similar, except that red bats have been found as far north as Southampton Island in the Arctic and hoary bats in Iceland, Hawaii, and the Galapagos Islands. (Full text)

Because silver-haired bats are dependant upon roosts in these areas of Old Growth, managing forests for diverse age structure and maintaining forested corridors are very important to these bats‹³Increasing pressure to use resources from forests, especially those of older stands, has increased the urgency for identifying characteristics of trees and surrounding habitat that are important in determining suitable roosts (Full text)

Silver-haired bats are among the most common bats in forested areas of America, most closely associated with coniferous or mixed coniferous and deciduous (Full text)

As with most other insectivorous bats, Lasionycteris is opportunistic in its feeding habits and takes a wide variety of small to medium-sized insects including moths, bugs, beetles, flies, and caddisflies. (Full text)

The scientific name of the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) describes its appearance (Lasionycteris is from Greek words meaning "hairy bat") and its lifestyle (noctivagans is from Latin words meaning "night wanderer"). (Full text)

Foraging Ecology: Silver-haired bats are slow, highly maneuverable flyers that rely on echolocation calls ideally (Full text)