Soprano Pipistrelle Bats

Pipistrelle is Latin for little squeaking beast - pipistrelles can be heard squeaking just before leaving roost sites in summer.

There are three different types of pipistrelle in Britain. The maternity roost at Hanningfield is made up of soprano pipistrelles. They can only be reliably told apart from the common pipistrelle by their echolocation call, which is 55kHz rather than 45kHz on a bat detector.

Body length: 3.5-4.5cm
Wingspan: 19-25cm
Weight: 3-8g

Pipistrelles are the smallest European bats. They have dark red/brown fur on their backs and yellow/brown undersides. The ears, nose and wing membranes are black/brown.

Soprano pipistrelles are widely distributed across Europe. It has been suggested the soprano pipistrelle roosts are more common in Scotland and parts of Ireland than in England.

While pipistrelles feed in many habitats, research suggests that the soprano pipistrelle feeds mainly over water.

Pipistrelles emerge from their roosts to feed relatively early - sometimes before sunset. They hunt small moths, gnats and other small insects, often returning to their roost after a couple of hours, although they may emerge for another feed during the night. A single pipistrelle may consume up to 3,000 insects in one night.

In the summer they tend to roost in buildings, bat boxes and trees. In the winter they also use trees and buildings, as well as large churches and cellars. They hibernate from mid November to the beginning of April. They are rapid, agile fliers, flying about 5-10m above the ground.

Males defend their own territories from other males during the mating season (August to September). Females visit these mating roosts, and one male can have a harem of up to 10 females.

Pipistrelles are not threatened and are the commonest bat in the UK, but numbers have decreased over the past decade.