• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Bat Week: The Indiana Myotis

October 28, 2021 by Ellen Rathbone Leave a Comment

Indiana bat courtesy Dr. Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation InternationalTo the average person, an Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) is not a terribly impressive animal. It is a smallish, brownish bat, often mistaken for a little brown bat (another less-than-dazzling member of the clan).

A scientist in the know, however, can detect small differences to tell these species apart, such as the length of the toe hairs (I kid you not), the length of the ears, the color of the snout, the amount of shine to the fur, or the presence of a keel on the calcar (a spur of cartilage that gives some rigidity to the trailing edge of the wing membrane near the bat’s foot).

Indiana bats are, however, rather special: they are the only bat we have in New York State that is on the Federal Endangered Species List. It was placed on this list in March 1967, so it has been there for quite some time. The species’ has declined considerably since then, a decline that has come about the way these things usually do: loss of habitat.

Myotis sodalis is a very social bat. In fact, it is so social that this very trait is reflected in its species name: sodalis, which is Latin for “companion.” These bats like to hang out together, which is especially evident in the caves where they spend the winter: upwards of 3,000 of these bats can squeeze together in an area only a meter square. Whether this is because these bats just like the company of their compatriots or because the part of the cave where they are snoozing tends to be the coldest, dampest and draftiest, and they keep from freezing completely thanks to the body warmth of their neighbors, I don’t know.

Almost the entire population of this species (which is limited to the eastern United States) overwinters in about four or five caves, mostly in Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri. However, the Adirondacks claims to be home of the fifth largest winter colony if Indiana bats.

Until fairly recently, little was known about these bats outside their winter roosts. Where did they go? What did they do? A study conducted by biologists in New York and Vermont just a few years ago discovered that the Indiana bats from our neck of the woods head for the banana belt of the Champlain Valley when the snow melts. A few male bats may remain in the caves for the summer, but most males spend the summer in solitary bliss within the hardwood forests of the valley.

The female bats, however, continue to live up to their name and remain in groups, albeit much smaller groups than those covering the cave walls in winter. Pregnant females form small maternity colonies in the woods, making use of several temporary tree roosts. They move about every few days from one roost to another, with a particular spot being a primary location. These roosts can be as small as a crawl space beneath some loose bark, or they can be a cavity within the trunk of a dead or dying tree.

The amount of sunlight reaching the roost seems to be important. Like many of our bats, ambient temperature affects the speed of maturation for baby bats: the warmer it is, the faster they grow up. And considering the drain taking care of a baby bat is on its mother, she wants it to grow up and move out as soon as possible. Sunlight is good.

This is part of a series of stories about New York State’s resident bat species. You can read them all here.

Photo of Indiana bat courtesy Dr. Merlin Tuttle, Bat Conservation International.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Bat Species, bats, nature, Wildlife

About Ellen Rathbone

Ellen Rathbone is by her own admission a "certified nature nut" who was an environmental educator for the Adirondack Park Agency's Visitor Interpretive Centers for nearly ten years.

Ellen graduated from SUNY ESF in 1988 with a BS in forestry and biology and has worked as a naturalist in New York, New Jersey, and Vermont.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Support The Almanack

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Michele Cogley on Albany’s Anneke Jans Bogardus, Indecent Exposure, Trinity Church & The Bowery
  • Bob Hest on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Beth on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Kathleen Quinby on Cremona to Central Park: Stradivari & Nahan Franko’s Legacy
  • Editorial Staff on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Big Burly on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Bob Hest on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Luis R on Manhattan Street Names Tied to Slavery Listed from A to Z
  • Robert Luthart on ATV Minimum Age Bill Passes Both Houses
  • Bob Meyer on Equal Justice for All *

Recent New York Books

Without Concealment, Without Compromise
Washington’s Marines
Major General Israel Putnam hero of the American Revolution
v is for victory
The Motorcycle Industry in New York State
Unfriendly to Liberty
weeds of the northeast
Putting Out the Planetary Fire: An Introduction to Climate Action and Advocacy
Seneca Ray Stoddard An Intimate Portrait of an Adirondack Legend
rebels at sea

Secondary Sidebar

Mohawk Valley Trading Company Honey, Honey Comb, Buckwheat Honey, Beeswax Candles, Maple Syrup, Maple Sugar
preservation league