Species description
The pond bat hunts in wide curves over larger water bodies, very close to the water surface. With a lower armlength of 43 – 49 mm and a weight between 14 and 20g this species is much larger compared to Daubenton's bats, which are found in similar habitats and have a similar hunting behavoiur.The relative big feet are characteristic for this species. The ears, which do not reach the nose, are of dark incarnadian colour. Pond bats echolocate with calls which sweep from 65(85) kHz down to 25(35) kHz. Sometime one can detect calls of deeper frequencies (35kHz), so called „quail-calls“.
Pond bats are distributed from Northern France throughout the European Lowlands and Scandinavia to Eastern Europe, Russia and the Far East. Maternity roosts are mainly found in buildings. In autumn they migrate up to 300km to hibernate in underground sites like caves, mines, wells or icecellars.
List of prey
Although Diptera are often eaten as bulk food, the diet is divers. Most prey items are captured from the watersurface. The frequent occurrence of dung-flies and several scarab beetles, indicates that pond bat often forages above meadows and pastures. Other prey includes Coleoptera (curculionidea, Scarabaeidae, Dytiscidae), Lepidoptera, Trichoptera, etc etc.