Virginia’s NatureServe rank for the tricolored bat is S2, imperiled, a sharper warning than the species’ global Vulnerable status alone would suggest. White-nose syndrome has hit hibernating populations hard across the state’s caves since the disease arrived, and the drop from once-large cave counts to today’s scattered records reflects that collapse.
Records split close to evenly between iNaturalist (126) and GBIF (115), which fits a small bat active enough at dusk to get photographed occasionally, though most individual bats still go undetected between structured surveys. Reports show a choppy pattern through the year, with small peaks in February, April, and September and a complete gap in January, likely tracking when researchers check hibernacula and run mist-net surveys rather than a true pause in when tricolored bats are around.
The refuges tied to Virginia sightings sit along the coast, at the opposite end of the state from most of its cave-hibernating population.
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