Little Brown Bat

Myotis lucifugus

Eats up to 1,000 insects per hour by echolocation. White-nose syndrome has killed millions. Still delivers.

Population: Pre-decline rangewide estimate ~6.5 million; white-nose syndrome has cut eastern North American hibernacula populations by 90-99% since 2006-2007, with modeling projecting continued steep declines (one estimate as low as ~65,000 by 2026) in affected regions, while the species remains common in unaffected western/central portions of its range
Habitat: Forested areas near lakes, rivers, and wetlands; roosts in tree hollows, rock crevices, buildings, and other structures in summer (day, night, and maternity roosts), and hibernates in caves and abandoned mines in winter
Fun fact: Little brown bats are exceptionally long-lived for their size — a banded wild individual in Ontario was recovered roughly 31 years after banding, and multiple sources cite records of up to 30 years despite the bat weighing only a few grams.
Range: North America: southern Alaska and across Canada, throughout the United States from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts, and higher-elevation forests of Mexico; absent from northern Canada, most of Florida, the southern Great Plains, southern California, and parts of the coastal Carolinas/Virginia
Diet: Insectivore — eats midges, mosquitoes, beetles, moths, caddisflies, and mayflies caught in flight over water and open areas, consuming roughly half (lactating females up to 100%+) of its body weight in insects each night
Size: 0.09 m
Wingspan: 0.25 m
Lifespan: 30 years

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