Use of Bat Boxes by a Maternity Colony of Indiana Myotis (Myotis sodalis)

Abstract Selection of maternity roosts by the federally endangered Indiana myotis (Myotis sodalis Miller and Allen) is a topic of great concern for wildlife managers. As part of annual monitoring of Indiana myotis at the Indianapolis International Airport, we observed M. sodalis using 2 of 974 available birdhouse-style bat boxes as maternity roosts. This represents the first reported use of birdhouse-style bat boxes as maternity roosts for M. sodalis. However, these 2 boxes were among 3204 artificial roosting structures on the site, including 259 triple and 715 single birdhouse-style bat boxes, many of which were in place for more than a decade and never used by Indiana myotis. Use of bat boxes by Indiana myotis may have been initiated by loss of a primary roost tree 2 years earlier.