Food Habits of Gray Bats in Kentucky

Foods eaten by gray bats (Myotis grisescens) were determined from fecal samples from bats netted along foraging routes on Jessamine Creek, Jessamine Co., Kentucky. Eleven families from nine orders of insects were eaten, with Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera occurring at the highest percent volumes. Three coleopteran families (Carabidae, Chrysomelidae, and Scarabaeidae) were common in the diet of gray bats. Ephemeropterans were not observed in fecal samples, despite their availability at foraging sites. Diet shifted across sampling periods. Data indicate that gray bats foraged both opportunistically and selectively at that site.