The tricolor bat (Perimyotis subflavus) is the smallest bat native to North America, weighing only 46 grams (roughly the same weight of a quarter). The once common species is wide ranging across the eastern and central United States and portions of southern Canada, Mexico and Central America. During the winter, tricolored bats are found in caves and mines, although in the southern United States, where caves are sparse, tricolored bats are often found roosting in road-associated culverts.

During the spring, summer and fall, tricolored bats are found in forested habitats where they roost in trees, primarily among leaves. As its name suggests, the tricolor bat is distinguished by its unique tricolored fur that appears dark at the base, lighter in the middle and dark at the tip.

​

White-nose syndrome, a disease that impacts bats, is caused by a fungal pathogen. It has led to 90 to 100% declines in tricolored bat winter colony abundance at sites impacted by the disease. Since white-nose syndrome was first observed in New York in 2006, it has spread rapidly across the majority of the tricolor bat range.