habitat_narrative
Terrestrial
This species typically occurs in caves within areas of moist savannah, but has also been documented in bushveld regions adjacent to rivers and savannah woodland (for example, Brachystegia woodland in Zimbabwe) (Skinner & Smithers 1990), montane habitats and coastal mosaics (Cotterill & Happold 2013). It is most commonly associated with riparian forest and along wooded drainage lines (Monadjem et al. 2010). The availability of diurnal roosting sites, such as caves and mine adits, is an essential component of its habitat requirements (Taylor 1998). In KwaZulu-Natal it is often associated with Valley Bushveld regions, which occur along the lower reaches of east-flowing rivers (Taylor 1998). It is absent from deserts and rare in semi-arid savannahs (Cotterill & Happold 2013).The Bushveld Horseshoe Bat is an insectivorous clutter forager (Skinner & Chimimba 2005; Monadjem et al. 2010), feeding on a range of soft-bodied insects (Rautenbach 1997); it is known to hunt insect prey amongst dense vegetation and even on the ground (Rautenbach 1997). It feeds most commonly on Lepidoptera, but to a lesser extent, is also known to take Hemiptera, Isoptera, Orthoptera and Coleoptera (Whitaker & Black 1976; Findley & Black 1983; Schoeman 2006). This is a slow, but acrobatic, flier (Rautenbach 1997) with low aspect ratio, very low wing-loading and rounded wing tips (Cotterill & Happold 2013). In spring, females have been observed migrating to maternity roosts to give birth, before returning to the colony with their young (Wingate 1983). In KwaZulu-Natal, pregnant females were observed in September and October (Skinner & Chimimba 2005). A single, naked young is born in summer, usually in late November or early December (Rautenbach 1997). Young are weaned after a period of four to six weeks (Rautenbach 1997).
Ecosystem and cultural services: As this species is insectivorous, it may play an important role in controlling insect populations (Boyles et al. 2011; Kunz et al. 2011). Often, bats prey on the insect species that destroy crops (Boyles et al. 2011; Kunz et al. 2011). Ensuring a healthy population of insectivorous bats can result in a decrease in the use of pesticides.
