Iowa mammals

Tricolored Bat in Iowa

Perimyotis subflavus

Native to Iowa S4 Apparently Secure in Iowa

Not listed as nonindigenous in Iowa by USGS NAS; native to its Iowa range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

VU – Vulnerable

High risk of extinction in the wild.

Tricolored Bat hibernating on a limestone mine wallTricolored Bat hanging from a cave ceiling with pale belly fur visibleTricolored Bat roosting in a shallow concrete creviceTricolored Bat tucked against a pale cave wallTricolored Bat roosting under a dark cave overhang
Photo: Krynak Tim, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domainTricolored Bat hibernating on a limestone mine wallPhoto: Ann Froschauer/USFWS · CC-BYTricolored Bat hanging from a cave ceiling with pale belly fur visiblePhoto: aispinsects · CC-BYTricolored Bat roosting in a shallow concrete crevicePhoto: cigazze · CC-BYTricolored Bat tucked against a pale cave wallPhoto: Matt D'Agrosa · CC-BYTricolored Bat roosting under a dark cave overhang

Tricolored Bat in Iowa, by the numbers

Occasional in Iowa 45th most recorded of 74 mammals logged in Iowa

30 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

30 total records count every Iowa occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 29; the monthly chart covers the 28 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Tricolored Bat in Iowa

Most sightings fall in September.

28 Iowa occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Iowa records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April7
May3
June4
July1
August2
September9
October1
November1
December0

Monthly tricolored bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Iowa, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Iowa, with recorded sightings peaking in September, with a smaller rise in April.

Occurrence map

Where Tricolored Bat has been recorded in Iowa

29 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

29 Iowa records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Maquoketa Caves State Park 1

Protected places with the most tricolored bat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Iowa

CountyRecords
Winneshiek County 6
Mahaska County 6
Jackson County 3
Fayette County 2
Boone County 2
Hardin County 2
Clinton County 2
Jones County 1
Scott County 1
Allamakee County 1
Wapello County 1
Dallas County 1
Des Moines County 1
Other localities 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 13 Iowa counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Tricolored bats carry a NatureServe S4 apparently secure rank in Iowa, a notably healthier state-level read than the species’ global IUCN Vulnerable status, which reflects severe declines elsewhere from white-nose syndrome. GBIF records (30) triple the iNaturalist count (10) here, meaning cave and hibernaculum surveys, not casual sightings, document most of what’s known about this small bat in the state.

Records are thin and clustered almost entirely in spring, April carries 3 of the 5 monthly-tallied sightings, with single records in May and November, a dataset too small to draw a confident seasonal pattern beyond the spring emergence window from hibernation.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Tricolored Bat hibernating on a limestone mine wall
Full species profile Tricolored Bat Perimyotis subflavus Size 7.7–8.9 cm3–3.5 in Weight 5–8 g0.2–0.3 oz Lifespan Up to 14.8 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Iowa in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources: