FOOD AND FEEDING-HABITS OF INSECTIVOROUS BATS FROM ISRAEL

Small numbers of fecal pellets were examined from nine of the 32 speci es of insectivorous bats from Israel. Based on these small samples, As ellia tridens and Pipistrellus bodenheimeri were lepidopteran/dipteran and lepidopteran/dipteran/coleopteran feeders, respectively; Myotis n attereri fed primarily on lygaeids and coleopterans; Otonycteris hempr ichi fed exclusively on coleopterans; Pipistrellus kublii fed on hymen opterans and coleopterans; Pipistrellus rueppelli and Tadarida tenioti s fed mostly on lepidopterans and coleopterans; Plecotus austriacus fe d exclusively on lepidopterans, and Rhinolophus clivosus was a general ist feeder, taking several different kinds of insect prey. Information on dietary analysis is supplemented with direct observations on the f oraging habits of these bats.