Eastern Red Bat
(Lasiurus borealis)
The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is characterized by the red to a rusty red color of their soft, dense fur. Much of their fur is tipped with white, which gives them a frosty-like color. They are also known to have white patches on their shoulders. Bats are the only mammals that are able to fly. Their bodies can reach lengths of 5 inches plus the lengths of their tail.
The range of the eastern red bat stretches from just east of the Rocky Mountains to southern Canada all the way down to northeastern Mexico. There is also known to be a population of them on Bermuda. They are a species that is known to roost in trees and shrubbery and find areas where there are no branches below so that they can take to flight easily.
They are insectivores that feed in wooded areas, water corridors, and edges of open spaces where their prey congregates. They feed on all types of insects including flies, mosquitoes, and flying ants. Eastern reds are a solitary and migratory species of bat unless they are migrating. They mate in the fall and practice delayed fertilization and have their litters of 2-3 babies in the early summer.