TABANIDAE AS DIETARY ITEMS OF RAFINESQUE BIG-EARED BAT - IMPLICATIONSFOR ITS FORAGING BEHAVIOR

Lepidopterans and dipterans formed the entire diet of a maternity aggr egation of Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Plecotus rafinesquii) in a sing le-sample analysis of fecal pellets. Tabanidae made up 31% of the tota l sample volume. The presence of male Tabanidae as prey items may be s ignificant, because few natural predators have been identified for thi s insect. Literature concerning the behavior of tabanids is reviewed a nd compared to the sparse information concerning P. rafinesquii foragi ng. The foraging habits of this bat species are apparently more varied than previously reported. The unusual presence of tabanids as prey it ems suggests that this bat could be of use in tabanid control.