Although seldom found to be plentiful, this bat was recorded from many
points on both the coastal and desert slopes of the mountains. Specimens
were taken in the chaparral association in San Antonio Canyon, near
Jackson Lake among yellow pines, and in Mescal Canyon at the upper limit
of the Joshua tree woodland. Bats, probably _volans_, were noted over
sage flats at 8000 feet elevation on Blue Ridge. The only place where
these bats appeared to be numerous was Jackson Lake on the interior
slope; there, on September 19, 1951, _volans_ appeared with the
pipistrelles, and was the most common bat before dark.
An individual of this species taken on October 28, 1951, in a short
mine-shaft in the pinyon belt at the head of Grandview Canyon was slow
in its movements and felt as cold as the walls of the tunnel. It was
late afternoon and the temperature outside the cave was below 40 deg.F. The
floor of the tunnel was covered with the hind wings of large moths of
the genus _Catocala_; _volans_ probably hung in the cave while eating
them.
The series of _volans_ from the San Gabriels shows that the two color
phases of this bat both occur in the area. Two specimens from Jackson
Lake contrast sharply with the rest of the series in their dark
coloration. Benson (1949:50) states that color variation in a series of
_volans_ from a given locality may be striking.
This bat was collected in San Antonio Canyon from 50 minutes after
sundown to two hours and 40 minutes after sundown. In this area these
bats did not visit the ponds in large numbers as they seemed to do on
the desert slope.
A female taken on May 29, 1951, contained one embryo nearly at term.
_Specimens examined._--Total, 9, distributed as follows: Los
Angeles County: Mescal Canyon, 8 mi. E and 5 mi. S Llano, 4900
ft., 1; 3 mi. W Big Pines, Swarthout Valley, 6000 ft., 3; San
Antonio Canyon, 2800 ft., 5.
=Myotis californicus californicus= (Audubon and Bachman)