Ask A Scientist© Zoology Archive

name      Mary
status    other
age       50s

Question - Are the bats found in Western Illinois, principally those
located along the Mississippi (Clinton / Quads Cities area) on the
endangered list, and if so is it an offense to kill them.

What species of bats habitat here?

Well,

Since I studied bats for two years at Western Illinois University as a
graduate student, I may be able to address your question.

Yes, there are many bats in Western Illinois. Yes, they are protected by
State and Federal laws. The MAIN species of bats are: the red bat and
silvered-haired bat which live in forest regions and can be found under the
leaves of trees during the day. The Big and Little Brown bats are the
common bats found flying around houses and lamps at night and these stay in
crevices or caves or similar habitats at night, even houses with outside
attic entrances. I have found them on the side of trees and on the side of
any structure on occasion. There are a number of other bats that can be
found in Western Illinois, but they are not really common. I have found
Gray bats, Eastern Pipistrels and Hoary Bats. These may be locally common.

I'm not familiar with the endanger list for bats but you can contact the
Illinois History Survey in Urbana for more information.

http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/
Steve Sample
York High School
Elmhurst, Illinois
60126
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These are the bats found in Illinois, FE means federally endangered,
SE means state endangered. You should check with a local resource to see
whch ones of these could be found in your area. All bats are protected.
This list is from the Illinois Natural History Survey web site, mammals page:
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/ilspecies/mammalsplist.html

Order Chiroptera: Bats
Family Vespertilionidae: Vespertilionid bats
Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte, 1831) - Little brown bat
Myotis sodalis Miller & G.M. Allen, 1928 - Indiana bat FE
Myotis austroriparius (Rhoads, 1897) - Southeastern myotis SE
Myotis grisescens A.H. Howell, 1909 - Gray bat FE
Myotis septentrionalis (Troussart, 1897) - northern long-eared bat
Lasionycteris noctivagans (Le Conte, 1831) - Silver-haired bat
Pipistrellus subflavus (F. Cuvier, 1832) - Eastern pipistrelle
Eptesicus fuscus (Beauvois, 1796) - Big brown bat
Lasiurus borealis (Müller, 1776) - Red bat
Lasiurus cinereus (Beauvois, 1796) - Hoary bat
Nycticeius humeralis (Rafinesque, 1818) - Evening bat
Plecotus rafinesquii Lesson, 1827 - Rafinesque's big-eared bat SE 

J. Elliott
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