White-edged bat

Adult Kuhl's pipistrelles feed on small and micro-insects, which they hunt in flight. In descending order, the following insect groups are of particular relevance to this species: mosquitoes (Culicidae), Lepidoptera (butterflies), midges (Chironomidae), and Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, and ants). In residential areas, they can sometimes be observed hunting prey in the light of street lamps. Since bats are mammals, the young are nourished with the mother's milk – in the genus Pipistrellus, the offspring are nursed for about 4 to 5 weeks before they can go hunting on their own.

Foraging and orientation by echolocation

The orientation as well as the successful detection of prey function via echolocation. In the case of the white-edged bat, ultrasonic calls of about 36- 40 kilohertz are emitted. When the emitted ultrasonic waves hit an object, they are reflected and the echo travels back to the bat, where the sound waves are picked up and processed by the highly sensitive ears of these animals. The time and intensity of the reverberation reveal information about the distance and size of an object. The very high frequency of these calls far exceeds our acoustic perception ability (20 Hz- 20 kHz), which is why we cannot hear the calls of bats. With a volume of up to 140 decibels, it is probably also best for us not to be able to perceive these sounds.

After a mating in the previous year (August/September), females in small groups (up to 200 individuals) visit so-called maternity roosts from May onwards, where 1-2 young are born and suckled for several weeks. The white-edged bat uses crevice roosts on buildings, such as behind wooden cladding on facades or under gutters, as hiding places.

As a warmth-loving species, the white-edged bat was originally distributed in the Mediterranean region, on the Arabian Peninsula and in Western Asia. Due to climate change, this species has been able to expand its range in a northerly direction, and reproductive records have been available in Vienna and Munich since 1996 and 2002, respectively. The first record for Austria was provided by the limnologist Ingo Findenegg in Klagenfurt as early as 1947. With rising annual temperatures in Central Europe, an expansion of the range to higher latitudes is quite conceivable.

Bats are among the most endangered mammal species in Austria and are under special protection. In addition to the insect decline caused by humans, habitat loss and modern building renovations also pose a major threat to these animals.

The white-edged bat is a cultural successor and is therefore often found in populated areas. Here, this species uses parks, ponds, gardens or backyards as hunting grounds, while various building structures, wall crevices and cavities serve as day roosts, weekend roosts and winter quarters. As a relatively resident species, there are no known extensive seasonal migrations. The white-edged bat can reach an age of 8 years, which is quite a proud age compared to similarly sized vertebrates such as shrews (garden shrew 2-3 years).