Bechstein’s bat (Myotis bechsteinii) is a tree-dwelling species associated with old growth woodland. 

Fossil records suggest it was once the most common bat species in Britain, but forest clearance and changes in climatic conditions have resulted in major population declines across its range. It is now one of the rarest British bats.

Its core range appears to be centred on southern England from Gloucestershire to Sussex, but it has been found breeding as far north as Herefordshire and Worcestershire. There are also recent records from Kent in the east to Pembrokeshire in the west.

Our work

VWT carried out the first radio-telemetry studies on the species in Britain during the mid-1990s to determine the habitat preferences of this species. The study colony was in a bat box scheme in a deciduous lowland woodland in Dorset and the results of the research showed that this species feeds in closed canopy broadleaf woodland with a well-developed understorey often close to water bodies. During the summer, females rarely travel more than a kilometre from their day roosts.

The same colony has been the subject of a long-term ringing study to establish its colony size, breeding success and colony dynamics.

The Trust worked in collaboration with the University of Sussex to assess the genetic diversity and structure of the British population of Bechstein’s bats, and to develop a method to estimate the age of individual bats.

Useful links

• Read about Bechstein’s bat in our updated Bats of Britain and Ireland booklet
• Learn about a recent PhD study on the Bechstein’s bat in our PhD student blog
• Read about recent research into population trends of woodland bats using Bechstein’s bat as a case study.
• Find out about VWT’s Bat Reserves

Photo: Bechstein’s bat ©Henry Schofield

Distribution map: ©The Mammal Society