Yuma Myotis (Myotis yumanensis)
Image Copyright (c) Merlin D. Tuttle
Description: Body length about 3.0-3.5″, with a 9-10″ wingspan. Light brown to dark brown back and paler under side. Large feet and short ears. Wings and ears are dark brown. Very similar to the Little Brown Bat
Range: From British Colombia, across western US, Baja and to southern Mexico. Hibernate in winter.
Habitat: Emerges early in evening. Found in buildings, cliff crevices, trees, caves, mines and under bridges.
Diet: Emerges just after sunset. Usually feeds near water, filling up in about 15 minutes. Consumes aquatic emergent insects, including mayflies, caddis flies, midges, small beetles, flies, termites, and small moths.
Behavior: Flies low. Forms colonies of up to 5,000 bats. Mother bat gives birth to one pup.
Risk: Maternal colonies do not tolerate disturbance by people: they fail or are abandoned with subsequent decline in population. Since it lives in human dwellings, it is vulnerable to destructive pest control activities.
