Lesser Noctule
Encyclopedia
The Lesser Noctule or Leisler's Bat (Nyctalus leisleri) is a species of bat
belonging to the vesper bat
family, Vespertilionidae.
. It has a length of 48 to 68 mm (head and body) and a wingspan of 260 to 330 mm. The forearm measures 38 to 47 mm and the bat's weight is 11 to 20 grams. The face, ears and wings are dark. The fur is brown, darker at the base than the tip unlike that of the Common Noctule which is the same colour all along its length. The undersides of the arms are hairy giving it the alternative name "Hairy-armed Bat". The ears are short and rounded with a mushroom-shaped tragus. The wings are long and narrow.
and western Asia
, eastwards as far as the Urals and Himalayas
. It is also found in north-west Africa
, the Canary Islands
and Madeira
. The form in the Azores
is often considered to be a separate species - Azores Noctule
(Nyctalus azoreum).
It is typically found in forest
s, both coniferous and deciduous, but has also adapted to parkland and urban areas and frequently roosts in buildings.
In most parts of its range, the Lesser Noctule is rare but in Ireland
it is much commoner. In Britain
it is known from a few colonies in England
and Wales
with occasional wanderers reaching Scotland
. Threats to its survival include declines in large insect
s, loss of forest and hollow trees and toxic chemicals found in treated timber
in buildings.
s and beetle
s. They fly straight and fast with shallow dives, often at treetop level. They sometimes feed around streetlights, catching the insects attracted to them. They are most active around dusk and dawn and will travel up to 10 km while foraging
.
may sometimes be used. The females give birth to one or two young with twins being more common in the eastern part of the range.
lie between 25-54 kHz, have most energy at 29 kHz and have an average duration of 8.5 ms.
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
belonging to the vesper bat
Vesper bat
Vesper bats , also known as Evening bats or Common bats, are the largest and best-known family of bats. They belong to the suborder Microchiroptera . There are over three hundred species distributed all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica...
family, Vespertilionidae.
Description
It is a medium-sized bat, slightly smaller than the Common NoctuleCommon Noctule
The Common Noctule is a species of bat common throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The UK distribution can be found on the National Biodiversity Network website ....
. It has a length of 48 to 68 mm (head and body) and a wingspan of 260 to 330 mm. The forearm measures 38 to 47 mm and the bat's weight is 11 to 20 grams. The face, ears and wings are dark. The fur is brown, darker at the base than the tip unlike that of the Common Noctule which is the same colour all along its length. The undersides of the arms are hairy giving it the alternative name "Hairy-armed Bat". The ears are short and rounded with a mushroom-shaped tragus. The wings are long and narrow.
Distribution
The Lesser Noctule is found locally across EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and western Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, eastwards as far as the Urals and Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. It is also found in north-west Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
. The form in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
is often considered to be a separate species - Azores Noctule
Azores Noctule
The Azores Noctule is a species of bat found in the dry forests of the Azores. It is the only species of mammal endemic to the Azores. It has been recorded on most of the islands of the Azores, and remains common on some but is rare on others. Its numbers are threatened due to habitat loss caused...
(Nyctalus azoreum).
It is typically found in forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, both coniferous and deciduous, but has also adapted to parkland and urban areas and frequently roosts in buildings.
In most parts of its range, the Lesser Noctule is rare but in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
it is much commoner. In Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
it is known from a few colonies in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
with occasional wanderers reaching Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Threats to its survival include declines in large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, loss of forest and hollow trees and toxic chemicals found in treated timber
Wood preservation
All measures that are taken to ensure a long life of wood fall under the definition wood preservation . Apart from structural wood preservation measures, there are a number of different preservatives and processes that can extend the life of wood, timber, wood structures or engineered wood...
in buildings.
Feeding
The bats emerge soon after sunset to feed on flying insects such as mothMoth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s and beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s. They fly straight and fast with shallow dives, often at treetop level. They sometimes feed around streetlights, catching the insects attracted to them. They are most active around dusk and dawn and will travel up to 10 km while foraging
Foraging
- Definitions and significance of foraging behavior :Foraging is the act of searching for and exploiting food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce...
.
Reproduction
Lesser Noctules usually breed in small colonies of around 20 to 50 individuals but in Ireland they can be much larger. The colony is usually in a hollow tree or building; bat boxesNest box
A nest box, also spelled nestbox is a man-made box provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for wild and domesticated birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses, but some mammalian species may also use them. Birdhouses are the most common types of nest...
may sometimes be used. The females give birth to one or two young with twins being more common in the eastern part of the range.
Echolocation
The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocationAnimal echolocation
Echolocation, also called biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals.Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects...
lie between 25-54 kHz, have most energy at 29 kHz and have an average duration of 8.5 ms.
External links
- ARKive Photographs
- Woodland Management For Bats Guide