Daubenton’s Bat – Myotis daubentonii

Taxon: Chiroptera

Habitat: Riparian, Broadleaved Woodland

Description: Medium-sized UK bat, with short ears and relatively blunt tragus and muzzle for the Myotis species. Brown-furred on their back, with whitish-grey fur on their underside. Large feet are covered with stiff bristles.

Weight: 6-10g

Origin & Distribution: Native. Widespread across the UK. Distributions are patchier in Scotland and Northern Ireland; however, this could be due to a lower recording effort.

Diet: Prey on species with aquatic larval stages, especially midges and caddisflies. Moths, beetles, and mayflies are also taken, but in smaller qualities. 

General Ecology: Favour foraging in riparian habitat over still water, primarily grabbing (gaffing) insects from the surface of the water with their feet or mouth. They will also catch insects aerially (hawking). Select feeding sites, preferentially, with woodlands on the waters bank. Males of this species are the most commonly captures at swarming sites and individuals will travel up to 27km to reach them. Genetic population analysis between European and British bats, suggest that there is some movement of individuals across the English Channel or North Sea.

Breeding: Maternity roosts are common in the trees of broadleaved woodlands; however, they are also known to roost in solitary trees, bat boxes, buildings, bridges, and other artificial structures. Commonly found close to riparian habitats. Roosts tend to be sexually segregated during the maternity season and poorest quality habitat is almost exclusively used by males. In southern England, roosts are sexually segregated, but not spatially segregated. Offspring of all-female maternity colonies have a high probability of being fathered by bats caught at swarming sites. However, mating does occur in maternity roosts when sexes are mixed.

Conservation Status: Globally and across the Great Britain these bats are classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Current population trends are unknown. However, they are negatively affected by loss of roost locations, loss of foraging habitats, and habitat fragmentation.

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Identification

Medium-sized UK bat, with short ears and relatively blunt tragus and muzzle for the Myotis species. Brown-furred on their back, with whitish-grey fur on their underside. Large feet are covered with stiff bristles. The calcar is straight and extend more than two-thirds along the length of the tail membrane. 

Identification Definitions

• Muzzle: Projecting part of face, including nose and mouth.
• Tragus: Piece of skin near the ear canal.
• Calcar: Ancle spur.
• Tail Membrane: Skin connecting the tail to the feet.

Bat Detector

Range: 32-85 kHz

Most energy: 48.5 kHz

Average duration: 3.3 ms

Confusion Species

Other Myotis bat species. Occasionally the brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus).