Did you know the UK is lucky enough to have 17 breeding bat species? That's almost a quarter of our mammal species! Today, we will look at one local species: the Daubenton's bat. Daubenton's bat was named in honour of 18th century French naturalist Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton.
Bats often get a bad reputation, but these guys are the insect-eating sort, not the blood-sucking kind. They can live for around 22 years in the wild, but more often than not will only survive around 5 years. They are small with a fully brown body, grey silver underbelly, and a little pink face. Measuring a body length of around 5cm, they have a wing span of 24-27cm - around 5 times the size of their body. They only weigh 7-12g (slightly less than a Robin); which helps them remain quiet and agile as they skim the surface of water bodies in search of insects. Hence their nickname - the "water bat". They can be found throughout the UK in areas close to bodies of water.
Their diet consists of flies, midges, and caddisflies, which are their main prey source. They hunt these insects by flying low over water, catching them in their mouths, or scooping them up with their tails. They will often eat the prey mid-flight, but if the insect is particularly large, they must land on a perch to finish their meal. The best time to see them is from spring to autumn before they begin mating and hibernating for the winter.
During winter, bats tend to hibernate in warm spots underground in caves or mines. They become less active in October, and hibernation will be in full swing by December. They will not emerge from their sleep until Spring, and with them comes the birth of baby bats called pups. Their mother will raise these pups in maternity roosts (big collections of other mother bats) until the pups are fully grown at 2 months.
You can find out more about this species and other UK bat species on the Bat Conservation Trust's website here.
