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During the transitional period, i.e., during the autumn and spring migrations, the lesser horseshoe bats Rhinolophus hipposiders (Borkhausen, 1797) use transition roosts. In this paper, we try to characterize this type of roost using the example of the basement of an old distillery. The results of many years of monitoring the number of bats (2007-2020), microclimate analysis prevailing in the bat roost, and the dynamics of bat numbers conducted at the turn of 2015/2017 were also presented. During this period, 1 to 13 lesser horseshoe bats were recorded in the roost. Most bats were found in September, October, and April. Bats stayed in the roost at some distance from the inlet, preferring places with a temperature of 10-14°C. Bats were significantly more often found in the central chambers of the basement, chambers number 2 (F = 3.07; p=0.041). However, there was no statistically significant higher intensity (more bats) in the use of the roost (basement) between spring and autumn (F = 1.237, p=0.272). No statistically significant correlation was found between the number of lesser horseshoe bats in the roost and the temperature outside. In this roost, the Brown long-eared bat Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus, 1758) was also noted. Results of ringing bats` recapture show that lesser horseshoes bats can be attached to their transition roost and can spend longer periods there. The bat ringed in the transition roost wintered in a cave, 19.5 km away, while they spent the summer in the colony 3 km away. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat wings are characterized by high endurance, and these mammals have developed a number of adaptations that protect them from falling into obstacles and potential injuries. However, in bat populations, there are individuals with visible fresh or healed injuries to the flight–enabling body parts. The aim of this research was to determine the differences in the occurrence of wing membrane damages among species of bats that differ in ecology and behavior. The study was conducted in southern and western Poland in the years 2000–2016 and included 3,525 individuals of six species: lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolopus hipposideros, Daubenton’s bat Myotis daubentonii, Natterer’s bat Myotis nattereri, greater mouse–eared bat Myotis myotis, western barbastelle Barbastella barbastellus, and brown long–eared bat Plecotus auritus. In all, 2.9% of the bats studied showed damage to the flight–enabling body parts. Natterer’s bat was the species with the highest number of injured individuals (21.74%). The lowest number of injured individuals (0.3%) was found in the brown long–eared bat. The most frequently observed type of damage was loss of an edge of the wing membrane (29.3%). The bat species studied differed significantly in the occurrence and location of flight enabling body parts damages. Certain behavioral and ecological factors like foraging mode, foraging habitats and habitat types of bat species determine the number of wing and tail membrane damages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last 60 years, 34 cases of aberrant colouration in bats of the following species have been recorded in Poland: Rhinolophus hipposideros, Myotis daubentonii, Myotis mystacinus, Myotis nattereri, Myotis myotis, Eptesicus serotinus, Barbastella barbastellus and Plecotus auritus. The largest number of aberrant colouration cases was recorded during the hibernation period in the Nietoperek bat reserve, western Poland (0.016% individuals with albinism). In 2014, five individuals with partial albinism and one flavistic bat were found there. Proportion of individuals with albinism varied from 0.05% in the case of M. nattereri, 0.02% in the case of M. daubentonii and only 0.007% in the case of M. myotis. During the studies on bat swarming in the Tatra Mountains one case of leucistic whiskered bat was recorded which accounts for 0.016% out of over 5,900 representatives of this species that were caught. Aberrant colouration in bats is rarely recorded in Poland and it is not associated with any particular geographical region. Higher probability of observing atypically coloured individuals occurs in large populations of bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]