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| Distribution |
In NC, it is known only from the extreme southeastern corner of the state (Brunswick and New Hanover counties) and as a probable stray to Mecklenburg County, as this appears to be a Coastal Plain species.
Restricted in the United States to the far Southeast, ranging casually to southeastern VA (resident?) and eastern TX, but extending well into Central America. |
| Abundance |
Apparently very rare or rare in the Wilmington/Brunswick County area, if not farther west in Brunswick County. Expected to eventually be found farther northward in the NC Coastal Plain. Likely an accidental/stray in Mecklenburg County. This is a State Special Concern species. |
| Seasonal Occurrence |
Apparently hibernates in winter, though not fully understood in the Carolinas, as it is quite scarce in these states. |
| Habitat |
Areas with Spanish Moss are favored for daytime roosts, if not at night. It apparently does not roost in buildings or other man-made structures, at least not known to do so in the Carolinas. Areas with Longleaf Pine and Turkey Oak are favored, according to Webster et al. (1985). However, there appears to be a clear association of the bat with Spanish Moss. |
| Behavior |
They forage at night over wooded areas and likely over water. However, this species is apparently not as tied to swamps and bottomlands as are several other species (e.g., Rafinesque's Big-eared Bat and Southeastern Myotis). |
| Comments |
The first two state records were of individuals found dead by non-biologists, and thus without any habitat association data. However, in 2008, mist-nets were set up in a wooded residential area in Brunswick County, and a Northern Yellow Bat was captured, providing some indication of the habitat, such that it associates there with broken forested areas, likely where there is Spanish moss. As there are a few records from the extreme southeastern corner of VA, it is possibly a resident in NC farther northward of New Hanover County. Much obviously still is to be learned about its range in NC, though numerous mist-netting efforts over many or most of the eastern Coastal Plain counties (north of Wilmington) in the last decade have yet to turn up a Northern Yellow Bat in the nets -- despite an array of several other rare or uncommon species being found. |
| Origin |
Native |
| NC List |
Official |
 State Rank |
S1 |
| State Status |
SC |
| Global Rank |
G5 |
| Federal Status |
|
| subspecies |
Lasiurus intermedius floridanus |
| other_comName |
Yellow Bat |
| synonym |
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