What makes a good home for an eastern pipistrelle? Carrie Straight 05.14.01 Scientists in Texas wanted to answer that question. They went out and found 4 areas where eastern pipistrelles (Pipistrellus subflavus) roosted while they hibernated (called hibernacula). In each site, they marked the bats with color bands on their wings. This allowed the researchers to keep track of the number of males and females. They made systematic observations and measured different characteristics of the roost site, including the temperature and humidity. They recorded these and analyzed them. The researchers found that the bats arrived at the roost sites in late September when the temperature started to fall. There were more males than females in the roosts, and females were more likely to return to the roost the following year. Temperature and humidity did not vary with the number of bats found in each roost site. Sandel, Jody K., Grant R. Benatar, Kyle M. Burke, Christopher W. Walker, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr., and Rodney L. Honeycutt. 2001. Use and selection of winter hibernacula by the eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) in Texas. Journal of Mammalogy 82(1): 173-178. ©2001 The Aurora Collection, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Site Development by: Interactive Multimedia. Inc.