Eight taxa of bats are reported from seven counties in northeastern Arkansas. Localities, natural history notes, sex, age and reproductive condition are reported for most species. New records are combined with previously existing ones to reveal a greater distribution of chiroptera for the stat

Gardner, James E.

McDaniel, V. Rick

English

UARK (University of Arkansas )

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 32 Article 16 1978 Distribution of Bats in the Delta Region of Northeastern Arkansas James E. Gardner Arkansas State University V. Rick McDaniel Arkansas State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas  Part of the Population Biology Commons Recommended Citation Gardner, James E. and McDaniel, V. Rick (1978) "Distribution of Bats in the Delta Region of Northeastern Arkansas," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 32 , Article 16. Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol32/iss1/16 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu. Distribution ofBats inthe DeltaRegion ofNortheastern ArkansasJAMES E. GARDNERandV. RICK McDANIELDivision of Biological ScienceArkansas State UniversityState University, Arkansas 72467ABSTRACTEight taxa of bats are reported from seven counties innortheastern Arkansas. Locali-ties, natural history notes, sex, age and reproductive condition are reported for mostspecies. New records are combined with previously existing ones to reveal a greater distri-bution of chiroptera for the state.INTRODUCTIONThe Mississippi River Delta ofnortheastern Arkansas is a region inwhich agricultural practices dominate. As a result of overcutting.burning, and clearing land for farming operations, habitat needed tosupport bat populations has been drastically reduced. Soil Conserva-tion Service figures for 1975 indicate that woodlands comprise lessthan 15% of the total area of Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson,Mississippi, and Poinsett Counties.Although bats undoubtedly occur throughout the Delta Region ofnortheastern Arkansas, previously published records for this area arevirtuallynon-existent. Sealander (1956) reported records foronly twospecies of bats forone county inthis region. Baker and Ward (1967)list records for nine species of bats which occur in three counties ofsoutheastern Arkansas. Other existing records of chiroptera for thestate are concerned primarily with the Ozark Region, and cavesfound therein, of northwestern and northcentral Arkansas (Dellingerand Black, 1940; Sealander. 1956, 1960; McDaniel and Gardner,1977). Graves and Harvey (1974) reported twelve species of batsoccurring in all or part of21 counties inwestern Tennessee.METHODSLocalities are reported for eight species of bats collected fromseven counties innortheastern Arkansas between 1973 and 1977. Al-though many specimens were collected by the author, a number ofrecords existed in the Collection ofRecent Mammals, Arkansas StateUniversity.Collection was primarily by mist netting, as described by Tuttle(1976). Japanese mist nets of variable lengths (18.3, 12.8, and 5.5 m),were set in the capture position just prior to sunset, and checked atintervals of 30 minutes during the night, until sunrise. Most nettingwas done over water, either over creek pools or onponds, to capturebats as they drank. However, nets were also set in flywayscreated byroads through woods, dry streambeds, buildings, or bridges. Eachbat was removed from the net and the following data recorded foreach capture: species, time of capture, sex, age, reproductive con-dition, and certain environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, pre-cipitation, cloud cover, and moon phase). Other collecting tech-niques included the searching of abandoned houses, barns andbridges. Only voucher specimens were prepared and deposited in theCollection of Recent Mammals, Arkansas State University, the re-maining individuals were recorded and released.Assignment of bats into age classes was determined by closure ofphalangeal epiphyses. Bats were designated as juveniles on the basisof small overall size, as well as incomplete ossification of the epiphy-ses. In some instances, sub-adult bats were determined by lack ofcanine wear, but more reliably by the condition of the epiphyses ofthe phalanges and humerus. Comparison of pelage color was helpfulinseparating juvenile and sub-adults from adults.Reproductive condition ofmales was determined byposition of theepididymides. Scrotal bats were characterized by complete descentof the epididymides into pigmented sheathes dorsolateral to the tail,and by the presence of enlarged testes. Female bats were diagnosedas pregnant bydissection, or byexamination ofan obviously enlargedabdomen. Lactation was determined on the basis of teat examinationand the obvious presence of lactiferous tissue.DISTRIBUTION AND NATURAL HISTORY NOTESOF BATS INNORTHEASTERN ARKANSASMyotis lucifugus (LeConte). Typically a cave inhabitant, the littlebrown bat occurs more commonly in small numbers throughoutthe Ozark Region of Arkansas. The nearest existing records werefrom caves in Independence County (McDaniel and Gardner,1977). On 8 October 1976 a scrotal male was netted in CraigheadCounty over Ditch Number 60 (a tributary of the Saint FrancisRiver), and on 15 October 1976 another scrotal male was collectedfrom the same location. The latter specimen was a sub-adult, as itspelage was notcharacteristic of adult bats. These specimens repre-sent the first records for this species innortheastern Arkansas.Lasionycteris noctivagans (LeConte). Baker and Ward (1967) report-ed five specimens captured in December in Bradley County. Pre-viously, Sealander (1956) listed only two specimens from north-western Arkansas. On 15 October 1974 an adult male was foundhanging on a brick wall in the newly completed Agricultural Sci-ences Building, Arkansas State University. On 18 May 1977 an-other male was netted over Poplar Creek, Greene County. PoplarCreek cuts directly across Crowley's Ridge, and is surrounded oneither side by upland deciduous hardwood forest, representing oneof the few remaining habitats favorable to species of tree bats.Pipistrellu.isubflavus (F. Cuvier). The eastern pipistrelle is most com-monly a cave inhabitant, but females are known toregularly estab-lish nursery colonies outside caves (Lowery, 1974), and to roost ina variety of situations, including trees (Findley, 1954). On 17 May1973 a female was collected from a group of 10 bats found beneatha concrete bridge across the Cache River, Lawrence County. An-other adult female was found hanging from the supporting raftersof a porch inGreen County. On28 April1977 an adult female wasnetted during a light rain over Ditch Number 60 in CraigheadCounty. According toBaker and Ward (1967), this species decreas-es in numbers during late August and September, which alsoseems to be the case in northeastern Arkansas since no speci-mens were collected during fall or winter. However, this seasonaleffect is probably due to hibernation or migration on south.Epiesicus fuscus (Ralisot de Beavois). Sealander (1956) reported asingle specimen of the bigbrown bat from Greenway, Clay County.Only three other specimens are presently known from northeasternArkansas. Adead adult male was found in a parking lot near achurch belfrey in Jonesboro, Craighead County, on 8 February1977. On 22 October 1977 an adult female bat was discovered deadon the theatrical stage in Wilson Hall. Arkansas State University(search of the attic revealed onlya small ventilator through which abat could enter the building, and no additional bats were found).Four days later, on 26 October, a male was collected in mid-after-noon on the west side of the First National Bank Buildingin Jones-boro.46 Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXII,197846Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 32 [1978], Art. 16Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1978, ArkansasAcademy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXX11, 197847Lasiurus bnrealis (Muller).Sealander (1956) reported only fivespeci-mens of the red bat from one locality in the extreme corner ofnortheastern Arkansas. This species is unquestionably the mostcommonly occurring in the Delta Region. From May, 1976 toOctober, 1977, a total of 81 red bats were captured or observed.On 26 June 1973 a female with three young attached was discov-ered hanging from a porch rafter in Jonesboro, Craighead County.One year later, on 25 June, a female was found inWalnut Ridge,Lawrence County, also with three young attached (one male andtwo females). Another female with three young attached (one maleand two females), was discovered on the Arkansas State Universitycampus on 25 June 1975. On 18 May 1977 a pregnant red bat (withone female and two male embryos, crown to rump average- 15mm), was netted over Poplar Creek, Greene County. On 13 June1977 in Paragould. Greene County, a female with four young at-tached was found on the ground beneath a tree. The averageweightof these young was 6.9 g while the female weighed 15.5 g.On 16 June 1977 another female red bat was discovered three kmnorth Jonesboro, beneath a shagbark hickory (Carya ovala IMill.|K.Koch). This bat had only two young attached and was discov-ered after observing the peculiar behavior of a pair of blue jays(Cyanocitia crisiata [Linnaeus]). The two birds were observedmolesting the female, and successfully dislodged her from the tree.Blue jays are known predators on red bats (Hoffmeister andDownes, 1964). During the night of8 June 1977, a total of fifteenred bats were netted over a very small isolated water hole onCoop-er Creek, Cross County. With the exception ofone scrotal male, allspecimens were females. Eight of the females were lactating, onewas pregnant, one was later determined tobe a sub-adult, and an-other was a juvenile. Cockrum and Cross (1964) stated that preg-nant, and especially lactating females may require more water thanmales, and may not be able to maneuver and avoid a mist net aseasily as males or nonpregnant females. Atpresent there isonly asingle specimen of the red bat from Mississippi County—a femaleshot feeding around a street light four km west of Manila. An adultmale red bat was captured inJackson County, near Newport, on 27February 1977, and a juvenile was shot at the same location on8April1977.Lasiurus horealis was collected ina variety of situations innorth-eastern Arkansas, including under brush piles, from the rafters ofporches, and attached to the node of cane (Arundinaria giganiea|Walt.| Chapm.). However, they were most often collected alongstreams or riparian habitats. The majority of specimens was col-lected on or near Crowley's Ridge, in extensively wooded areas.Only one red bat (an adult female) was collected inDecember,near Jonesboro. However, there were several sightings ofunidenti-fied bats during December occurring inlocations where red batspreviously had been captured. Although no bats were capturedduring January or March, a male was collected on 11 February1977 north of Jonesboro. This specimen was observed flyingdowna county road inmid-afternoon, and was captured after it landedon the shoulder of the road. Another bat, which appeared to be ared bat, was observed flyingapproximately 9 m above a road inCross County on 26 February 1978. These data suggest at leastlimited winter activityof red bats during warmer days.Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Beauvois). Baker and Ward (1967) re-ported 14 specimens of the hoary bat from southeastern Arkansas.Sealander (1956) reported a total ofsix specimens from the state.On 4 September 1976 an adult female was netted at 3:00 a.m. overa small pool onPoplar Creek. Greene County. On 18 May 1977 apregnant female (containing two male embryos, crown to rumpaverage - 19 mm), was captured at the same locality.A torpidmalewas discovered beneath the eave of a house in Jonesboro on 8March 1978. Another male was collected from a low hangingbranch of an oak {Quercus sp.). Woodruff County.Nyciiceius humeralis (Rafinesque). The evening bat appears to bemore numerous in the southernmost counties of Arkansas (Bakerand Ward, 1967). and farther south intoLouisiana (Lowery, 1974).Only six specimens were collected from northeastern Arkansas. Ascrotal male was netted on ISOctober 1976 as it flew down a well-canopied stream adjacent the Saint Francis River, CraigheadCounty. Another scrotal male was netted on 19 November 1976over a pond north ofJonesboro. On23 January 1977 an adult malewas discovered clinging to the side of an old chair on the backporch of a house 15 km west of Jonesboro. Another scrotal malewas shot as it emerged at sunset on 4 May 1977 near the Saint Fran-cis River. Craighead County. This bat flew considerably lower thanthe surrounding trees, and was the firstbat observed on that partic-ular night. A sub-adult male was netted at a different location onthe Saint Francis River on 23 June 1977. Greene County. Althoughevening bats were not commonly encountered innortheastern Ar-kansas, they appear to be present in small numbers during much ofthe year.Plecolus rafinesquii Lesson. Sealander (1956) lists only a singlerecord of this bat for the state. Several specimens and a nurserycolony were reported by Baker and Ward (1967). A total of sixspecimens were collected from the Delta Region of northeasternArkansas. On2 November 1973 a scrotal male was collected from abarn three km east O'Kean, Greene County. Another scrotal malewas discovered hanging half way up a wall in an old house 9 kmwest of Tuckerman inJackson County, on 14 June 1974. During thenight of 18 September 1976 two adult females were netted as theyflew down Cooper Creek, Cross County, and on24 September 1976a scrotal male was netted over the creek. These bats were presum-ably breeding in this vicinity as the testes of the males were ap-proaching maximum development. Another scrotal male wasnetted on 8 October 1976 as it flew down Ditch Number 60, Craig-head County. These records represent a greater distribution of theeastern bigeared bat for Arkansas than previously reported. Theunusually large number of oldand abandoned houses and barns, aswellas other suitable roosting sites, provide excellent habitat forthis species innortheastern Arkansas.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIwish to express my sincere appreciation to themany individuals who contributed both time and effortto this study. Assistance in collecting was provided byN. Childers, M. Flagg, M. Hinsen, James Huggins,John Huggins, R. Ouzts, K.Paige, R. Ramsey, B.Rich-ards, D.Saugey, K. Sutton. and J. Wilhide. On two oc-casions members of the 1977 Natural History class ofArkansas State University provided valuable assistanceincollecting. Additional specimens were provided byT. Allison. R. Faulkner. M. Martin. S. Modelsky. D.Parten, B. Phaup. J. Priday. K.Smith, and F. Stark. Iam especially appreciative of valuable assistance fromDr.V. Rick McDaniel in collection and identificationof specimens, for the use of museum records, and incritically reading this manuscript. Finally. Iwish tothank my wife, Treva, forassistance incollecting speci-mens, and forencouragement given during preparationof this manuscript.LITERATURE CITEDBAKER, R. J. and C. M. WARD. 1967. Distribution of bats in south-eastern Arkansas. J. Mamm. 48:130-132.COCKRUM,E. L.and S. P. CROSS. 1964. Time of bat activityoverwater holes. J. Mamm. 45:635-636.DELLINGER, S. C. and J. D. BLACK. 1940. Notes on Arkansasmammals. J. Mamm. 21:187-191.FINDLEY, J. S. 1954. Tree roosting of the eastern pipistrelle. J.Mamm. 35:43..GRAVES, F. F.. JR. and M. J. HARVEY. 1974. Distribution ofChiroptera inwestern Tennessee. J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 49:106-109.HOFFMEISTER, D. F. and W. L.DOWNES. 1964. Blue jays aspredators ofred bats. S. W. Natur. 9:102-109.47Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 32 [1978], Art. 16https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol32/iss1/1648Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol. XXXI1/ 1978LOWERY,G. H., JR. 1974. The mammals ofLouisiana and its adjacent waters. Louisiana State Univ.Press, Baton Rouge: 565 pp.McDANIEL,V.R. and J. E. GARDNER. 1977. Cave fauna of Ar-kansas- vertebrate taxa. Proc. Ark.Acad. Sci. 31:68-71.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. 1956. A provisional check-list and key tothe mammals of Arkansas (with annotations). Amer. Midi.Natur. 56:257-296.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. 1960. Some noteworthy records of Arkan-sas mammals. J. Mamm. 41:525-526.TUTTLE,M. D. 1976. Collecting techniques, pp. 71-86. inBaker,R.J., J. K.Jones, Jr., and D. C. Carter (eds.). Biology of bats ofthe New World family Phyllostomatidae. Part I.Spec. Publ.Mus., Tex. Tech Univ.10:218 pp.48Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 32 [1978], Art. 16Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1978

Distribution of Bats in the Delta Region of Northeastern Arkansas

ScholarWorks@UARK

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of ScienceVolume 32 Article 161978Distribution of Bats in the Delta Region ofNortheastern ArkansasJames E. GardnerArkansas State UniversityV. Rick McDanielArkansas State UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaasPart of the Population Biology CommonsThis article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able toread, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking priorpermission from the publisher or the author.This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academyof Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu, ccmiddle@uark.edu.Recommended CitationGardner, James E. and McDaniel, V. Rick (1978) "Distribution of Bats in the Delta Region of Northeastern Arkansas," Journal of theArkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 32 , Article 16.Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol32/iss1/16Distribution ofBats inthe DeltaRegion ofNortheastern ArkansasJAMES E. GARDNERandV. RICK McDANIELDivision of Biological ScienceArkansas State UniversityState University, Arkansas 72467ABSTRACTEight taxa of bats are reported from seven counties innortheastern Arkansas. Locali-ties, natural history notes, sex, age and reproductive condition are reported for mostspecies. New records are combined with previously existing ones to reveal a greater distri-bution of chiroptera for the state.INTRODUCTIONThe Mississippi River Delta ofnortheastern Arkansas is a region inwhich agricultural practices dominate. As a result of overcutting.burning, and clearing land for farming operations, habitat needed tosupport bat populations has been drastically reduced. Soil Conserva-tion Service figures for 1975 indicate that woodlands comprise lessthan 15% of the total area of Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson,Mississippi, and Poinsett Counties.Although bats undoubtedly occur throughout the Delta Region ofnortheastern Arkansas, previously published records for this area arevirtuallynon-existent. Sealander (1956) reported records foronly twospecies of bats forone county inthis region. Baker and Ward (1967)list records for nine species of bats which occur in three counties ofsoutheastern Arkansas. Other existing records of chiroptera for thestate are concerned primarily with the Ozark Region, and cavesfound therein, of northwestern and northcentral Arkansas (Dellingerand Black, 1940; Sealander. 1956, 1960; McDaniel and Gardner,1977). Graves and Harvey (1974) reported twelve species of batsoccurring in all or part of21 counties inwestern Tennessee.METHODSLocalities are reported for eight species of bats collected fromseven counties innortheastern Arkansas between 1973 and 1977. Al-though many specimens were collected by the author, a number ofrecords existed in the Collection ofRecent Mammals, Arkansas StateUniversity.Collection was primarily by mist netting, as described by Tuttle(1976). Japanese mist nets of variable lengths (18.3, 12.8, and 5.5 m),were set in the capture position just prior to sunset, and checked atintervals of 30 minutes during the night, until sunrise. Most nettingwas done over water, either over creek pools or onponds, to capturebats as they drank. However, nets were also set in flywayscreated byroads through woods, dry streambeds, buildings, or bridges. Eachbat was removed from the net and the following data recorded foreach capture: species, time of capture, sex, age, reproductive con-dition, and certain environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, pre-cipitation, cloud cover, and moon phase). Other collecting tech-niques included the searching of abandoned houses, barns andbridges. Only voucher specimens were prepared and deposited in theCollection of Recent Mammals, Arkansas State University, the re-maining individuals were recorded and released.Assignment of bats into age classes was determined by closure ofphalangeal epiphyses. Bats were designated as juveniles on the basisof small overall size, as well as incomplete ossification of the epiphy-ses. In some instances, sub-adult bats were determined by lack ofcanine wear, but more reliably by the condition of the epiphyses ofthe phalanges and humerus. Comparison of pelage color was helpfulinseparating juvenile and sub-adults from adults.Reproductive condition ofmales was determined byposition of theepididymides. Scrotal bats were characterized by complete descentof the epididymides into pigmented sheathes dorsolateral to the tail,and by the presence of enlarged testes. Female bats were diagnosedas pregnant bydissection, or byexamination ofan obviously enlargedabdomen. Lactation was determined on the basis of teat examinationand the obvious presence of lactiferous tissue.DISTRIBUTION AND NATURAL HISTORY NOTESOF BATS INNORTHEASTERN ARKANSASMyotis lucifugus (LeConte). Typically a cave inhabitant, the littlebrown bat occurs more commonly in small numbers throughoutthe Ozark Region of Arkansas. The nearest existing records werefrom caves in Independence County (McDaniel and Gardner,1977). On 8 October 1976 a scrotal male was netted in CraigheadCounty over Ditch Number 60 (a tributary of the Saint FrancisRiver), and on 15 October 1976 another scrotal male was collectedfrom the same location. The latter specimen was a sub-adult, as itspelage was notcharacteristic of adult bats. These specimens repre-sent the first records for this species innortheastern Arkansas.Lasionycteris noctivagans (LeConte). Baker and Ward (1967) report-ed five specimens captured in December in Bradley County. Pre-viously, Sealander (1956) listed only two specimens from north-western Arkansas. On 15 October 1974 an adult male was foundhanging on a brick wall in the newly completed Agricultural Sci-ences Building, Arkansas State University. On 18 May 1977 an-other male was netted over Poplar Creek, Greene County. PoplarCreek cuts directly across Crowley's Ridge, and is surrounded oneither side by upland deciduous hardwood forest, representing oneof the few remaining habitats favorable to species of tree bats.Pipistrellu.isubflavus (F. Cuvier). The eastern pipistrelle is most com-monly a cave inhabitant, but females are known toregularly estab-lish nursery colonies outside caves (Lowery, 1974), and to roost ina variety of situations, including trees (Findley, 1954). On 17 May1973 a female was collected from a group of 10 bats found beneatha concrete bridge across the Cache River, Lawrence County. An-other adult female was found hanging from the supporting raftersof a porch inGreen County. On28 April1977 an adult female wasnetted during a light rain over Ditch Number 60 in CraigheadCounty. According toBaker and Ward (1967), this species decreas-es in numbers during late August and September, which alsoseems to be the case in northeastern Arkansas since no speci-mens were collected during fall or winter. However, this seasonaleffect is probably due to hibernation or migration on south.Epiesicus fuscus (Ralisot de Beavois). Sealander (1956) reported asingle specimen of the bigbrown bat from Greenway, Clay County.Only three other specimens are presently known from northeasternArkansas. Adead adult male was found in a parking lot near achurch belfrey in Jonesboro, Craighead County, on 8 February1977. On 22 October 1977 an adult female bat was discovered deadon the theatrical stage in Wilson Hall. Arkansas State University(search of the attic revealed onlya small ventilator through which abat could enter the building, and no additional bats were found).Four days later, on 26 October, a male was collected in mid-after-noon on the west side of the First National Bank Buildingin Jones-boro.46 Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXXII,197846Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 32 [1978], Art. 16Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1978,Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol.XXX11, 1978 47Lasiurus bnrealis (Muller).Sealander (1956) reported only fivespeci-mens of the red bat from one locality in the extreme corner ofnortheastern Arkansas. This species is unquestionably the mostcommonly occurring in the Delta Region. From May, 1976 toOctober, 1977, a total of 81 red bats were captured or observed.On 26 June 1973 a female with three young attached was discov-ered hanging from a porch rafter in Jonesboro, Craighead County.One year later, on 25 June, a female was found inWalnut Ridge,Lawrence County, also with three young attached (one male andtwo females). Another female with three young attached (one maleand two females), was discovered on the Arkansas State Universitycampus on 25 June 1975. On 18 May 1977 a pregnant red bat (withone female and two male embryos, crown to rump average- 15mm), was netted over Poplar Creek, Greene County. On 13 June1977 in Paragould. Greene County, a female with four young at-tached was found on the ground beneath a tree. The averageweightof these young was 6.9 g while the female weighed 15.5 g.On 16 June 1977 another female red bat was discovered three kmnorth Jonesboro, beneath a shagbark hickory (Carya ovala IMill.|K.Koch). This bat had only two young attached and was discov-ered after observing the peculiar behavior of a pair of blue jays(Cyanocitia crisiata [Linnaeus]). The two birds were observedmolesting the female, and successfully dislodged her from the tree.Blue jays are known predators on red bats (Hoffmeister andDownes, 1964). During the night of8 June 1977, a total of fifteenred bats were netted over a very small isolated water hole onCoop-er Creek, Cross County. With the exception ofone scrotal male, allspecimens were females. Eight of the females were lactating, onewas pregnant, one was later determined tobe a sub-adult, and an-other was a juvenile. Cockrum and Cross (1964) stated that preg-nant, and especially lactating females may require more water thanmales, and may not be able to maneuver and avoid a mist net aseasily as males or nonpregnant females. Atpresent there isonly asingle specimen of the red bat from Mississippi County —a femaleshot feeding around a street light four km west of Manila. An adultmale red bat was captured inJackson County, near Newport, on 27February 1977, and a juvenile was shot at the same location on8April1977.Lasiurus horealis was collected ina variety of situations innorth-eastern Arkansas, including under brush piles, from the rafters ofporches, and attached to the node of cane (Arundinaria giganiea|Walt.| Chapm.). However, they were most often collected alongstreams or riparian habitats. The majority of specimens was col-lected on or near Crowley's Ridge, in extensively wooded areas.Only one red bat (an adult female) was collected inDecember,near Jonesboro. However, there were several sightings ofunidenti-fied bats during December occurring inlocations where red batspreviously had been captured. Although no bats were capturedduring January or March, a male was collected on 11 February1977 north of Jonesboro. This specimen was observed flyingdowna county road inmid-afternoon, and was captured after it landedon the shoulder of the road. Another bat, which appeared to be ared bat, was observed flyingapproximately 9 m above a road inCross County on 26 February 1978. These data suggest at leastlimited winter activityof red bats during warmer days.Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Beauvois). Baker and Ward (1967) re-ported 14 specimens of the hoary bat from southeastern Arkansas.Sealander (1956) reported a total ofsix specimens from the state.On 4 September 1976 an adult female was netted at 3:00 a.m. overa small pool onPoplar Creek. Greene County. On 18 May 1977 apregnant female (containing two male embryos, crown to rumpaverage - 19 mm), was captured at the same locality.A torpidmalewas discovered beneath the eave of a house in Jonesboro on 8March 1978. Another male was collected from a low hangingbranch of an oak {Quercus sp.). Woodruff County.Nyciiceius humeralis (Rafinesque). The evening bat appears to bemore numerous in the southernmost counties of Arkansas (Bakerand Ward, 1967). and farther south intoLouisiana (Lowery, 1974).Only six specimens were collected from northeastern Arkansas. Ascrotal male was netted on ISOctober 1976 as it flew down a well-canopied stream adjacent the Saint Francis River, CraigheadCounty. Another scrotal male was netted on 19 November 1976over a pond north ofJonesboro. On23 January 1977 an adult malewas discovered clinging to the side of an old chair on the backporch of a house 15 km west of Jonesboro. Another scrotal malewas shot as it emerged at sunset on 4 May 1977 near the Saint Fran-cis River. Craighead County. This bat flew considerably lower thanthe surrounding trees, and was the firstbat observed on that partic-ular night. A sub-adult male was netted at a different location onthe Saint Francis River on 23 June 1977. Greene County. Althoughevening bats were not commonly encountered innortheastern Ar-kansas, they appear to be present in small numbers during much ofthe year.Plecolus rafinesquii Lesson. Sealander (1956) lists only a singlerecord of this bat for the state. Several specimens and a nurserycolony were reported by Baker and Ward (1967). A total of sixspecimens were collected from the Delta Region of northeasternArkansas. On2 November 1973 a scrotal male was collected from abarn three km east O'Kean, Greene County. Another scrotal malewas discovered hanging half way up a wall in an old house 9 kmwest of Tuckerman inJackson County, on 14 June 1974. During thenight of 18 September 1976 two adult females were netted as theyflew down Cooper Creek, Cross County, and on24 September 1976a scrotal male was netted over the creek. These bats were presum-ably breeding in this vicinity as the testes of the males were ap-proaching maximum development. Another scrotal male wasnetted on 8 October 1976 as it flew down Ditch Number 60, Craig-head County. These records represent a greater distribution of theeastern bigeared bat for Arkansas than previously reported. Theunusually large number of oldand abandoned houses and barns, aswellas other suitable roosting sites, provide excellent habitat forthis species innortheastern Arkansas.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIwish to express my sincere appreciation to themany individuals who contributed both time and effortto this study. Assistance in collecting was provided byN. Childers, M. Flagg, M. Hinsen, James Huggins,John Huggins, R. Ouzts, K.Paige, R. Ramsey, B.Rich-ards, D.Saugey, K. Sutton. and J. Wilhide. On two oc-casions members of the 1977 Natural History class ofArkansas State University provided valuable assistanceincollecting. Additional specimens were provided byT. Allison. R. Faulkner. M. Martin. S. Modelsky. D.Parten, B. Phaup. J. Priday. K.Smith, and F. Stark. Iam especially appreciative of valuable assistance fromDr.V. Rick McDaniel in collection and identificationof specimens, for the use of museum records, and incritically reading this manuscript. Finally. Iwish tothank my wife, Treva, forassistance incollecting speci-mens, and forencouragement given during preparationof this manuscript.LITERATURE CITEDBAKER, R. J. and C. M. WARD. 1967. Distribution of bats in south-eastern Arkansas. J. Mamm. 48:130-132.COCKRUM,E. L.and S. P. CROSS. 1964. Time of bat activityoverwater holes. J. Mamm. 45:635-636.DELLINGER, S. C. and J. D. BLACK. 1940. Notes on Arkansasmammals. J. Mamm. 21:187-191.FINDLEY, J. S. 1954. Tree roosting of the eastern pipistrelle. J.Mamm. 35:43..GRAVES, F. F.. JR. and M. J. HARVEY. 1974. Distribution ofChiroptera inwestern Tennessee. J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 49:106-109.HOFFMEISTER, D. F. and W. L.DOWNES. 1964. Blue jays aspredators ofred bats. S. W. Natur. 9:102-109.47Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 32 [1978], Art. 16http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol32/iss1/1648Arkansas Academy of Science Proceedings, Vol. XXXI1/ 1978LOWERY,G. H., JR. 1974. The mammals ofLouisiana and its adjacent waters. Louisiana State Univ.Press, Baton Rouge: 565 pp.McDANIEL,V.R. and J. E. GARDNER. 1977. Cave fauna of Ar-kansas- vertebrate taxa. Proc. Ark.Acad. Sci. 31:68-71.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. 1956. A provisional check-list and key tothe mammals of Arkansas (with annotations). Amer. Midi.Natur. 56:257-296.SEALANDER, J. A., JR. 1960. Some noteworthy records of Arkan-sas mammals. J. Mamm. 41:525-526.TUTTLE,M. D. 1976. Collecting techniques, pp. 71-86. inBaker,R.J., J. K.Jones, Jr., and D. C. Carter (eds.). Biology of bats ofthe New World family Phyllostomatidae. Part I.Spec. Publ.Mus., Tex. Tech Univ.10:218 pp.48Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 32 [1978], Art. 16Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1978

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Distribution of Bats in the Delta Region of Northeastern Arkansas

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