Daubenton's myotis
Myotis daubentonii
Jakob Fahr · 38102 Braunschweig
Key facts in one look
- Diet
- Insectivore: midges, mayflies
- Status in Georgia
- Native
- Size
- Body 4.5–5.5 cm, wingspan 24–27.5 cm
- Habitat
- Wooded country near water
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
Daubenton's myotis (Myotis daubentonii) is a water bat: at dusk it flies 2–25 cm above the calm surface of rivers and ponds, catching midge-like insects. It is a small bat, with a body of 4.5–5.5 cm and a weight of 7–15 g. After an hour of hunting, a 7-gram bat may weigh 11 g. Forty-one records are known from Georgia, including from Korugi and Gulgula. If a bat flies into your home, do not catch it with bare hands: open a window and give it time to leave.
Identification
Daubenton's myotis: how to identify it
A small to medium-sized bat with a brownish-grey back, a silvery-grey belly and a reddish-pink face. Its ears are fairly short. It is best recognised by its behaviour: it circles low over calm water, very close to the surface.
Size: the body is 4.5–5.5 cm, the wingspan 24–27.5 cm and the weight 7–15 g.
The fluffy fur on the back is brownish-grey and the belly silvery-grey. The face and nose are reddish-pink, with bare skin around the eyes. The wings and tail membrane are dark brown.
The ears are fairly short. When disturbed, the bat holds its ears almost at right angles to its head. The flap inside the ear, the tragus, is longer than it is broad, with a convex rear edge.
A small bat hunting a few centimetres above water is probably Daubenton's myotis, but in flight only specialists can confirm the species, from an echolocation recording or a bat in the hand. Do not catch the bat.
Colour
The back is an even brownish-grey, from medium to dark brown, and the belly silvery-grey or brownish-grey. The face is reddish-pink. The wings and tail membrane are dark brown. Young bats are darker than adults.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
Daubenton's myotis lives in wooded country near calm water. It almost always chooses roosts close to rivers, canals or lakes. Summer colonies settle in caves, tunnels, cellars, mines, under bridges, in hollow trees and in buildings. It spends the winter in the same kinds of places, in crevices in caves. Its range covers Eurasia, from Ireland to Korea and Japan, and in many areas its numbers are growing. Forty-one records are known from Georgia, including from Korugi and Gulgula. It is a partly cave-dwelling bat: it turns up in caves at times, but does not live only underground.
Daubenton's myotis feeds on aquatic insects. It catches mainly non-biting midges (chironomids) and other small flies, and often mayflies and moths. It also takes prey from the water surface and often eats it in flight. It picks calm water and avoids ripples, because they scramble the echo. It also hunts less over ponds covered with duckweed. After an hour of hunting, a 7-gram bat may weigh 11 g.
Daubenton's myotis emerges at dusk, typically about an hour and a half after sunset. It flies fast and nimbly, very close to the water. Hibernation lasts from September to late March or April, and it often spends the winter alone. Mating takes place in autumn, and fertilisation follows in spring. In June and July females form nursery colonies of several dozen bats, and each has a single young. The young starts flying at 3 weeks and becomes independent at 6–8 weeks. It lives 4–4.5 years on average, but can reach 22.
Globally Daubenton's myotis is rated Least Concern (LC, 2020). It is widespread, and in much of its range its numbers are growing. In European countries it is protected by law, like all bats. In Georgia the 2021 national assessment rates it Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. What it needs most is clean, calm water and the riverside trees and structures where it roosts.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. Forty-one records are known from Georgia, including from Korugi and Gulgula. It turns up in caves at times, but it lives mainly in wooded country near water. Look for it over calm water on a summer evening.
By its behaviour. At dusk it flies 2–25 cm above calm water and often takes insects off the surface. It has a brownish-grey back, a silvery belly and a pink face. In flight, the species is confirmed only from an echolocation recording.
It will not attack you, but do not touch it with bare hands. A bat bite can be tiny and easy to miss. Rabies cannot be ruled out by appearance, although most bats people see are not rabid. After a bite or scratch, wash the spot with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and see a doctor; in an emergency, call 112.
Small insects rising from the water. It mainly takes non-biting midges and other flies, as well as mayflies and moths. It often eats its prey in flight. In an hour it can eat more than half its own weight.
It is not threatened. Globally, and in Georgia's 2021 national assessment, it is rated Least Concern (LC), with a stable population in Georgia. In many places its numbers are even growing. It needs clean, calm water and roosts close to it.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
