Maternal colonies of the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) were located and studied in Delaware, Grant, Hamilton and Madison Counties, Indiana, from March 1, 1970 to June 1, 1971. A total of 602 bats was captured. These banded bats provided data on intercolony movements and longevity. Three intercolony movements were recorded, all of short distances. Two bats were recaptured which had attained a minimum age of 12 years. Further detailed data regarding population levels; age as determined by canine tooth year and wing bone ossification; sex ratios; reproductive characteristics and body weight are discussed. / Department of Biology

Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) from a colony in Delaware County, Indiana were captured weekly from 9 July to 13 September, 1993. Food habits of the bats were quantified by analysis of fecal pellets collected in the field. The major foods were Coleopterans, particularly carabids and the agricultural pest Diabrotica undecimpunctata (averaging 54.47% and 32.91% of the total volume of fecal pellets, respectively). Other foods included Acrosternum hilare, Lepidoptera, Cicadellidae, Scarabaeidae, Curculionidae, Chrysomeloidea, Dytiscidae, Lygaeidae, Hemerobiidae, Gryllidae, Miridae, and Delphacidae. The volume of Carabidae and Galerucinae and the frequency of Carabidae and Scarabaeidae in fecal pellets varied temporally. Adults and juveniles differed significantly in the volume of Carabidae in the diet late in the summer. There was no significant difference in diet between the sexes. Diet of adults was more diverse than that of juveniles. Juveniles of both sexes had similar diet diversity. / Department of Biology

Maternal colonies of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus were studied in Delaware and Grant Counties from 21 May to 22 September, 1992. Nineteen colonies of bats were located and revisited several times during the summer. Bats were captured, sexed, aged, weighed and banded at each site. The weight gain pattern of the bats was related to rainfall and temperature during the summer. Other factors that might affect weight gain such as ectoparasites, tooth wear, and wing damage were also measured.The summer of 1992 had below normal rainfall in May and above normal rainfall in June and July. Temperatures were below normal during the study period. The weights of captured bats were compared to weights of bats captured at similar colonies during the same period in 1988, a dry year, and 1989 a wet year. Both of these years had near normal temperatures. Lower weight gain for juveniles and for adult females in late spring and early summer of 1992 was associated with higher than average precipitation and lower than average temperatures during the period. / Department of Biology