Long-eared bat

It is an animal of the order Chiroptera, family Vespertilionidae. It is so named because its ears are as long as those of a rabbit. It is found in Asia north of India, Europe, and northern Africa, and is known in Japan from Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku, and is abundant in the subalpine areas of Mount Fuji and Oze. Its forearm length is 3.5 to 4.5 cm, head and body length is 4 to 5 cm, wingspan is 15 cm, and its ears are oval, almost as long as its body length, with a tragus that is about half as long. The upper surface of its body is yellowish brown or gray brown. It lives in small groups or alone in caves, tree holes, and houses, and leaves its roost after sunset and flies slowly between the trees in the forest, preying on Lepidoptera such as Pyralidae, Noctuidae, and Geometridae, Neuroptera such as Ceratophthora, as well as nocturnal insects. They carry the insects they catch to a resting place, remove the wings, and eat them. When they sleep, they tuck their ears under their arms, with only their long, thin earlobes standing up like antennae. They are aggressive and sometimes engage in cannibalism. They give birth to a single baby in June or July. They hibernate in caves from mid-October to mid-March. They can be kept on a diet of mealworms (Teaworms), fly larvae, and pupae.

[Yoshiyuki Mizuko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱翼手目ヒナコウモリ科の動物。耳がウサギのように長いので、この名がある。インド以北のアジア、ヨーロッパ、アフリカ北部に分布し、国内では北海道、本州、四国より知られ、富士山や尾瀬の亜高山地帯に数が多い。前腕長3.5～4.5センチメートル、頭胴長4～5センチメートル、翼開長15センチメートル、耳は卵形で、長さはほぼ体長に等しく、その約半分の長さの耳珠(じしゅ)がある。体の上面は黄褐色または灰褐色。洞窟(どうくつ)、樹洞、家屋などに小群または単独ですみ、日没後にねぐらを離れ、森林内の樹間を緩やかに飛び回り、メイガ科、ヤガ科、シャクガ科などの鱗翅(りんし)目やヒロバカゲロウ科などの脈翅(みゃくし)目のほか、夜間に活動する昆虫を捕食する。とらえた昆虫は休息所に運び、はねを取り去ってから食べる。眠るときは耳を腕の下に畳み込み、細長い耳珠だけをアンテナのように立てている。気が荒く、共食いすることもある。6～7月に1子を産む。10月なかばから3月中旬まで洞窟などで冬眠する。ミールウォーム（チャイロゴミムシダマシ）やハエの幼虫、蛹(さなぎ)などの餌(えさ)で飼育することができる。

［吉行瑞子］

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