BAT CAM INFORMATION
Species: Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros)
Location: Wild Meadows
Source / Provider: Simon King Wildlife
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Lesser horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus hipposideros)
are rare in the British Isles, with the population limited to parts of Wales and south west England and western Ireland . Wild Meadows (in Somerset) is home to a few which use the inside of a porch roof as a night roost. These are small bats – about the size of a plum – and much smaller than their cousin, the greater horseshoe bat. The name ‘horseshoe’ is derived from the distinctive flap of skin surrounding their nose, a shape that looks a bit like a horse shoe. This ‘dish’ serves to focus the sounds emitted by the bats through their noses for echolocation. On a bat detector, their continuous warbling calls can be picked up at about 110kHz. They eat flies like midges, lacewings, small moths, caddice flies, beetles, small wasps and spiders.
Watch out for mating behaviour, which takes place during autumn and for individuals returning to the night roost to devour larger prey items.