Soprano Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus)
‘Looking out for our very own ‘Pond Bat’
The Soprano Pipistrelle is Britain’s smallest bat. A late entry to the record books, it was only discovered in 1999, and named because it has a much higher pitched call than the virtually identical Common Pipistrelle with which it had previously been confused (the Common Pipistrelle uses a call of 45 kHz, while the Soprano Pipistrelle echo-locates at 55 kHz).
Soprano Pipistrelles roost in trees and outhouses but they like to hunt over water, and especially ponds, for their favourite foods: midges, caddisflies, mosquitoes, mayflies, lacewings and small moths. You can spot them hawking on a calm summer’s evening, with their characteristic fast and jerky flight as they dive and dodge, pursuing their small prey, which they catch and eat while still in flight. A single Pipistrelle can tuck away 3,000 insects in one night!
Your gift of £12.00 will help us to work with our partners, to create new ponds close to Soprano Pipistrelle roosts, to help increase the populations of our very own ‘pond’ bat.
The Give and Let Live Scheme is supported by our friends at Miller Philanthropy,
with additional thanks to Nick Roberts Design for the illustrations.
