habitat_narrative

Terrestrial

This species is typically associated with dry and moist savannah and woodland habitats (Monadjem et al. 2010). Specimens in KwaZulu-Natal, were collected from woody habitats, such as Afromontane forest, riparian forest coastal forest or bushveld (Taylor 1998). In Durban, the species is found along rivers in the urban landscapes (Naidoo et al. 2011). Very little research is available on the feeding ecology and roosting behaviour of this species (Skinner and Chimimba 2005), but they are often collected when nets and harp traps are placed above water (Kearney and Taylor 1997, Monadjem et al. 2010). They are considered clutter-edge and clutter foragers (Monadjem et al. 2010). At the Sudwala Caves in Mpumalanga, their diet was found to comprise of Hemiptera, Diptera and Coleoptera (Schoeman 2006). Although little is known of their reproductive biology, in KwaZulu-Natal, a female pregnant with two fetuses was recorded in October (Kearney and Taylor 1997).

Ecosystem and cultural services: As this species is insectivorous, it may contribute to controlling insect populations that damage crops (Boyles et al. 2011, Kunz et al. 2011). Ensuring a healthy population of insectivorous bats can thus decrease the need for pesticides.