Bat Migration

— Wildlife Migration —

From April to October, New Jersey's bats feed almost exclusively on nocturnal insects, eliminating thousands of mosquitoes and flying pests each night. But when winter comes, most bats migrate to find alternative food sources or hibernation roosts.

New Jersey has nine species of bats. The red bat, hoary bat, and silver-haired bat migrate south for the winter. Similar to patterns of migratory birds, these bats cross the Delaware Bay and follow the Atlantic Coastline until they arrive in the warmer areas of the southeastern United States. There, insects are more plentiful and hibernation is shorter. In the spring, they return to their summer roosts in the north.

Many of New Jersey's more common bats, such as the big brown bat and the little brown bat, migrate to winter roosts in mines, caves, and buildings within a few hundred miles of their summer roosts. Ideal winter roosts are cool enough to lower the bats' metabolism without freezing them and moist enough to prevent dehydration.

Protecting migratory and resident bat populations, their roosts, and their summer and winter habitats helps to control mosquitoes and many agricultural pests.

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