The Eastern red bat is a widely distributed forest bat native to North America, ranging from southern Canada through Central and South America. It is known to migrate south for winter and hibernate in northern regions. During winter hibernation, they roost in sites with dense foliage and their red fur allows them to blend in well. They are insectivorous and feed on moths, beetles, ants and flies. Studies have found that Eastern red bats are relatively common in urban areas but activity declines with increased urbanization and they prefer high tree density over agricultural land or understory growth. While tolerant of some habitat changes, high shrub density and low tree density negatively impact populations. Eastern red bats should be promoted in urban

1. Eastern Red Bat
Lasiurus borealis
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Natural History: The Eastern red bat is a widely distributed forest
bat native to North America. It's native area ranges from southern
Canada through Central America and down into Chile and Argentina.
Eastern red bats are one of the native bats that is known to both migrate
to warmer climates during the winter as well as hibernate in the
northern regions of it's limit. When red bats hibernate during winter,
they tend to roost in sites of dense foliage. Due to their red fur color,
they blend in well with sycamores, oaks, elms, and box elders. The
Eastern Red Bat is listed by the IUCN as Least Concern, due to it's
wide population and distribution, and tolerance to a degree of habitat
modification. Eastern red bats are insectivorous bats and capture insects while flying. The typical
insects which the red bat will feed of consists of moths, beetles, plant-hoppers, ants and flies.
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Urban Issues:Eastern Red Bats are a species somewhat tolerant of habitat changes. In a study
of bat response to woodland restoration, they found that fire treatments to the forest fragments
may have a positive effect on snag-roosting bats as it reduced understory density, increased tree
death and cavity formation and decreased basal area. However, high shrub density and low tree
density showed to have a negative effect on bat populations. This is likely due to the fact that
high-clutter areas have fewer free insects and are require more energy to navigate through.
Another study which analyzed the species to species pattern of bat activity found that Eastern red
bats are relatively common in metropolitan areas but relative activity did decline with increased
amounts of urbanization. They also seemed to respond negatively to adjacent agricultural land,
as they are known to prefer high tree density as oppose to understory growth.
While the Eastern Red Bat is not an endangered species, it is beneficial to urban communities,
due to it's insectivorous diet. It is additionally an animal that doesn't infringe too much on human
living settlements. In terms of denning, prefers to roost in high foliage overstory trees (79%),
near the trunk (10%), grass litter (7%) and rarely shingles of rooves (4%). Despite these facts,
most humans see them as a "vermin" animal. Eastern Red bats should be promoted in urban
settings by means of habitat restoration and increase of urban tree planting as oppose to
understory shrubs.
References:

2. Gehrt, Stanley D., and James E. Chelsvig. 2004. "Species-Specific Patterns of Bat
Activity in an Urban Landscape". Ecological Applications. 14 (2): 625-635.
MAGER, KENNETH J., and THOMAS A. NELSON. 2001. "Roost-site Selection by Eastern
Red Bats (Lasiurus borealis)". The American Midland Naturalist. 145 (1): 120-126.
Smith, Debra A., and Stanley D. Gehrt. 2010. "Bat Response to Woodland Restoration within
Urban Forest Fragments". Restoration Ecology. 18 (6): 914-923.