habitat_narrative
Terrestrial
The Green House Bat is considered a savannah woodland species and has been recorded from both dry and moist wooded and bushveld habitats, typically in areas with a mean annual rainfall of > 500 mm (Skinner & Chimimba 2005). It is restricted to low-lying, hot savannahs and avoids open habitats such as grasslands (Monadjem et al. 2010b), possibly due to the absence of roosting sites. In the assessment region, the species is recorded from the Upper Karoo, Dry Highveld Grassland, Central Bushveld, Mopane Bioregion, Lowveld, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Drakensberg Grassland, Sub-Escarpment Savanna and Sub-Escarpment Grassland.This is not a well-studied species, with very little known about their habits. It roosts in small colonies in a variety of shelters (Monadjem et al. 2010a, 2010b), such as buildings and hollow trees (Cotterill & Giddings 1987). Roofs of houses are often selected as roosting sites (Jacobs et al. 2007; Jacobs & Barclay 2009). In Kruger National Park, it was found to favour hollow Mopane Trees found along the sides and tops of ridges (Fenton et al. 1985). In Swaziland, they were recorded roosting predominantly in Leadwood and Knob Thorn (Acacia nigrescens) trees (Monadjem et al. 2010a). Like other house bats, the Green House Bat is insectivorous (Skinner & Chimimba 2005), existing on a diet of mainly Coleptera, Lepidoptera and Hemiptera (Monadjem et al. 2010b).
Ecosystem and cultural services: As this species is insectivorous, it may contribute to controlling insect populations (Boyles et al. 2011; Kunz et al. 2011). Bats often prey on the insect species which destroy crops (Boyles et al. 2011; Kunz et al. 2011), and thus sustaining a healthy population of insectivorous bats can decrease the need for pesticides.
