DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.70141 ISSN: 0912-3814
Decoding the Diets of the Lesser Asiatic Yellow Bat,
Scotophilus kuhlii
Leach, 1821 From Malaysia: Molecular Insights Into Insectivorous Feeding Pre
Nuratiqah Abd Rahman, Salmah Yaakop, Ameyra Aman‐Zuki, Akbar Zubaid ABSTRACT
The lesser Asiatic yellow bat (
Scotophilus kuhlii
) is an abundant insectivorous bat species that thrives in altered landscapes in Malaysia. However, the dietary composition of this species remains poorly understood. Therefore, this study aimed to identify insect fragments present in the feces of insectivorous bats using a molecular approach to infer the dietary composition of
S. kuhlii
. DNA barcoding methods were employed using
cytochrome c oxidase subunit I
(
COI
) gene sequences. DNA was extracted from the fecal samples of
S. kuhlii
, and the obtained
COI
sequences were compared based on percentage similarity using BOLD and GenBank databases. Out of 100 insect fragments analyzed, 23 fragments were identified, representing 10 genera and two species detected in the diet of
S. kuhlii
. Interestingly, several insect taxa identified in the diet, including
Bactrocera
sp.,
Geomyphilus
sp.,
Leptocimex inordinatus
, and
Vespa
sp., are recognized as insect pests. These findings suggest that
S. kuhlii
plays an important role as a natural pest controller, and further investigation of its diet could provide valuable ecological insights.