Maternity colony (bats) Maternity colony (bats) A maternity colony refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats. After giving birth, the colony consists of the lactating females and their offspring. After weaning, juveniles will leave the maternity colony, and the colony itself will break apart. The size of a maternity colony is highly variable by species, with some species forming colonies consisting of ten or fewer individuals, while the largest maternity colony in the world in Bracken Cave is estimated to have over 15 million bats.
Bats of Israel Bats of Israel To date, thirty-three species of Israeli bats have been identified, of which 32 are insectivorous bats. The largest bat hibernation site in Israel is the Twins Cave near Beit Shemesh. One-third of the species of bats of Israel are found in the Jordan Valley region, with many inhabiting abandoned Israeli military outposts along the border with Jordan. Beginning in the 1950s, bat caves in Israel were routinely fumigated to reduce the number of fruit bats in the country. As the population of fruit bats declined, so did that of other bat species. Consequently, the number of noctuid