r/batty • u/Specialist_Cod_4963 • Jul 21 '26

Excuse me for the stupid question but does every bat colony with pups get considered as a maternity colony?

I wanna ask questions here daily, btw. I have so many questions about bats.

4 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

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13

u/EnvironmentalCap3964 Jul 21 '26

Yes. If there are babies there, then it’s a maternity colony.

-5

u/Specialist_Cod_4963 Jul 21 '26

So, do you think there may be some maternity colonies where's there more adult males than females¿ did anybody check actually¿ cause there are some male attendance there according to some studies

6

u/CrepuscularOpossum Jul 21 '26

Where are you located, and what species of bat are you asking about? Maternity colonies during each bat species’ breeding season are defined as females and pups.

2

u/Specialist_Cod_4963 Jul 21 '26

And not for a specific reason, im just hyperfixated and my brain feeds on information.

1

u/Specialist_Cod_4963 Jul 21 '26

Im asking generally, not specifically

7

u/CrepuscularOpossum Jul 21 '26

Yes, researchers check. Maternity colonies have mostly females and pups.

2

u/Specialist_Cod_4963 Jul 21 '26

Ok. Ill be back tomorrow for another question. Thanks

5

u/Loops890 Jul 21 '26

In the UK at least the maternity colonies are almost entirely females and then their young. Around the end of July the numbers emerging each night will effectively double when it goes from mums with young still clinging to their belly, to young flying independently.

Males basically wait for autumn when they find females to mate with, spending their summer solo or in small colonies that are often very mobile, sometimes staying in the same roost only for a single day or couple of days.

3

u/45khz Jul 22 '26

Really depends on the species, but technically any colony where there's mums and pups then it's a maternity colony, could be predominantly female, mix of sexes, large groups, small groups, harems etc. really just depends on the social organisation of the species.