Common pipistrelle bat

Pipistrellus pipistrellus

Key facts

Gaelic name: Ialtag chumanta
Wingspan: 20 – 23.5cm | Head & body length: 3.5 – 4.5cm | Weight: 3 – 8g
Status: European protected species. Protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended).
Species on the Edge areas: Solway; Argyll and Inner Hebrides; Orkney; Outer Hebrides

Species information

How to identify

The common pipistrelle is a small brown bat with a dark face. It has a wingspan of 18 – 25cm, a head and body length of 3.3 – 4.8cm, and weighs around just 5 grams (the same as a 20p piece!). They have an erratic flight pattern, often around human head height. They are hawkers, meaning they catch and eat insects on the wing.

Sounds produced by common pipistrelles are above the range of human hearing with the exception of social calls that may be heard by children and some adults with good hearing. With a bat detector (heterodyne) the echolocation calls can be picked up between about 45 and 70kHz.

The calls sound like a series of clicks towards the top of this range, turning into ‘wetter’ slaps with the deepest sounding slap being heard at about 45kHz, the peak intensity of the call.

Lifecycle

During the summer, females form maternity colonies where they give birth to a single young in June or early July. For three or four weeks the young are fed solely on their mother’s milk. After about four weeks the young are able to fly and at six weeks they are able to forage for themselves.

Male bats usually roost singly or in small groups through the summer months. During the main mating period from July to early September, males defend individual territories as mating roosts, attracting females by making repeated ‘songflights’ around their roost and singing social calls.

Distribution

Common pipistrelles are the most widespread bat species in Britain and are even found on Orkney and Shetland.

Common pipistrelle distribution map. Credit: Bat Conservation Trust www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats/common-pipistrelle

Habitat and feeding

Common pipistrelles are found in a wide range of habitats: woodland, farmland, suburban and urban. They prefer edge habitats like hedgerows and woodland edges. They roost in crevices in buildings, trees or bat boxes, and are rarely found underground.

Summer roosts of both common and soprano pipistrelles are usually found in crevices around the outside of often newer buildings, such as behind hanging tiles, soffit and barge or eaves boarding, between roofing felt and roof tiles or in cavity walls. The common pip also roosts in tree holes and crevices, and also in bat boxes. Summer roosts support smaller colonies than soprano pipistrelles, with numbers averaging around 75 bats. Common pipistrelle maternity colonies are more likely to move between roost sites than those of soprano pipistrelles. In winter common pipistrelles are found singly or in small numbers in crevices of buildings and trees, and also in bat boxes. They are often found in relatively exposed locations and rarely underground.

Common pipistrelles feed on small flies, midges and mosquitos.

When to see

All UK bats hibernate from around November to March. They are most active during the summer months when insect prey is most abundant.

Pipistrelles are the bats you are most likely to come across. They emerge soon after sunset (around 15 – 20 minutes after) and fly within the tree canopy, often feeding on the midges that are feeding on you!

Protection

All bat species found in Scotland are classed as European protected species. They receive full protection under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended).

Threats

Loss of suitable feeding and roosting in part due to modern intensive agricultural practices
Their reliance on buildings for roosting makes them vulnerable to building renovations, exclusion and toxic remedial timber treatment chemicals

What Species on the Edge is doing

We know that bat species are in decline in Britain in general, however we are lacking data on how they are doing specifically on Scotland’s coasts and islands. Species on the Edge teams in Argyll and Inner Hebrides, Orkney, the Outer Hebrides and on the Solway Coast are working to learn more about how the common pipistrelle bat is faring in these areas and to support its continued presence there. Activity in these areas include:

Monitoring and surveying
Engaging with local communities to increase awareness of their local bats
Working with land owners to co-create habitat management plans

Our work for bats

A group of people in high-vis vests look towards a sunrise — Using our ears to survey bats on the Solway Coast

Solway Project Officer, Liam, tells us about surveying bats based on interpreting the ultrasonic echolocation calls of different species of bat.

A group of people stand on a road at sunset looking for bats — Species on the Edge Youth Panellist sets up the Outer Hebrides Bat Group

Species on the Edge Youth Panellist, Angus Maclean, tells us about the Outer Hebrides Bat Group he founded, his aims for the group and how they are getting on.

A group of four people stand outside and smile for the camera. — Sleat locals champion Skye’s bats

Bat Conservation Trust Officer, Cathryn, tells us about the fantastic work Sleat Community Trust are doing for their local bats.

Resources

If you are interested in learning more about bats, or are interested in supporting bats on your land, get in touch with your local Species on the Edge team.