A bat box, photographed as part of NABat fieldwork in 2024.
Where do bats live?
Bats can be found in almost all parts of the world and in most regions of the United States.
In general, bats seek out a variety of daytime retreats such as caves, rock crevices, old buildings, bridges, mines, and trees. Different species require different roost sites. Some species, such as the Mexican free-tailed and gray bats live in large colonies in caves. A few solitary species, such as the red bat, roost in trees.
In winter, bats either hibernate or migrate to warmer areas. Those that hibernate build up a fat reserve to sustain them through the winter. If they’re disturbed, their fat reserve could become exhausted and they could die prior to spring.
Learn more: USGS North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)
Related
Are bats blind?
No, bats are not blind. Bats have small eyes with very sensitive vision, which helps them see in conditions we might consider pitch black. They don’t have the sharp and colorful vision humans have, but they don’t need that. Think of bat vision as similar to a dark-adapted Mr. Magoo (a cartoon character with very poor vision). Learn more at the USGS North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)...
Are bats dangerous?
All healthy bats try to avoid humans by taking flight and are not purposely aggressive. Most bats are about the size of a mouse and use their small teeth and weak jaws to grind up insects. You should avoid handling bats because several species, such as the hoary and big brown bats, have large teeth that can puncture skin if they are handled improperly. Less than one percent of the bat population...
Do vampire bats really exist?
Yes, but not in most of the United States. Of the three species of vampire bats in North America, only a single specimen has been recorded for the United States in extreme southwest Texas. Vampire bats do not suck blood--they make a small incision with their sharp front teeth and lap up the blood with their tongue. Vampire bats in Mexico and South America feed on the blood of livestock such as...
How are bats affected by wind turbines?
Dead bats are found beneath wind turbines all over the world. It’s estimated that tens to hundreds of thousands die at wind turbines each year in North America alone. Unfortunately, it’s not yet clear why this is happening. It’s possible that wind turbines interfere with seasonal migration and mating patterns in some species of bats. More than three quarters of the bat fatalities at wind turbines...
What do bats eat?
Bats are the most significant predators of night-flying insects. There are at least 40 different kinds of bats in the U.S. that eat nothing but insects. A single little brown bat, which has a body no bigger than an adult human’s thumb, can eat 4 to 8 grams (the weight of about a grape or two) of insects each night. Although this may not sound like much, it adds up—the loss of the one million bats...
What should I do if I find dead or dying bats, or if I observe bats with signs of White-nose Syndrome?
If you find a dead or dying bat: Contact your state wildlife agency , file an electronic report in those states that offer this service, e-mail U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in your area or contact your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service field office to report your potential White-nose Syndrome (WNS) observations. It is important to determine the species of bat in case it is a federally...
Why are bats important?
By eating insects, bats save U.S. agriculture billions of dollars per year in pest control. Some studies have estimated that service to be worth over 3.7 billion dollars per year, and possibly as much as 53 billion dollars per year. This value does not, however, take into account the volume of insects eaten by bats in forest ecosystems and the degree to which that benefits industries like lumber...
Bat box
A bat box, photographed as part of NABat fieldwork in 2024.
PubTalk 09/2019 — Bats in the West
Title: Bats in the West: Discoveries, Questions, and Future Research
By Gabriel A. Reyes, USGS Biologist
Title: Bats in the West: Discoveries, Questions, and Future Research
By Gabriel A. Reyes, USGS Biologist
Hibernating little brown bat
A little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome hibernating in a Virginia cave during late spring of 2016.
A little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome hibernating in a Virginia cave during late spring of 2016.
Colony of bats.
Bats benefit from maintaining a close-knit roosting group because they increase reproductive success and it is important for rearing pups.
Bats benefit from maintaining a close-knit roosting group because they increase reproductive success and it is important for rearing pups.
Bat Thermal Video
Imagery from temperature-sensing cameras showing bats in hibernation. This new footage suggests that bats who warm up from hibernation together throughout the winter may be better at surviving white nose syndrome, a disease caused by a cold-loving fungus ravaging insect-eating bat populations in the United States and Canada.
Imagery from temperature-sensing cameras showing bats in hibernation. This new footage suggests that bats who warm up from hibernation together throughout the winter may be better at surviving white nose syndrome, a disease caused by a cold-loving fungus ravaging insect-eating bat populations in the United States and Canada.
Bat emergence, Paul Cryan, USGS photo.
Mexican free-tailed bats that emerged from Bracken Cave in Texas fly among the trees in the early evening sky.
Mexican free-tailed bats that emerged from Bracken Cave in Texas fly among the trees in the early evening sky.
Lava tube opening/possible bat roost with pine forest above.
Opening of a large lava tube at El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico and likely roost for bats, 2011.
Opening of a large lava tube at El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico and likely roost for bats, 2011.
Roosting Bats
A group of Rafinesque big-eared bats (and one southeastern myotis) found roosting in a bridge. Photo by Andrea Schuhmann (USGS).
A group of Rafinesque big-eared bats (and one southeastern myotis) found roosting in a bridge. Photo by Andrea Schuhmann (USGS).
Beyond Billions: Threatened Bats are Worth Billions to Agriculture
Insect-eating bats provide pest-control services that save the U.S. agriculture industry over $3 billion per year, according to a study released today in the journal Science. However, scientists with the U.S.
Insect-eating bats provide pest-control services that save the U.S. agriculture industry over $3 billion per year, according to a study released today in the journal Science. However, scientists with the U.S.
Scientist at Bat Cave
USGS wildlife disease specialist Kim Miller outside of an abandoned mine where bats hibernate in New York.
USGS wildlife disease specialist Kim Miller outside of an abandoned mine where bats hibernate in New York.
Bat with Radio Transmitter
USGS biologist Paul Cryan releases a bat carrying a miniature radio transmitter. Researchers are increasingly turning to high-tech methods to try to learn more about the mysterious lives of bats.
USGS biologist Paul Cryan releases a bat carrying a miniature radio transmitter. Researchers are increasingly turning to high-tech methods to try to learn more about the mysterious lives of bats.
Related
Are bats blind?
No, bats are not blind. Bats have small eyes with very sensitive vision, which helps them see in conditions we might consider pitch black. They don’t have the sharp and colorful vision humans have, but they don’t need that. Think of bat vision as similar to a dark-adapted Mr. Magoo (a cartoon character with very poor vision). Learn more at the USGS North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)...
Are bats dangerous?
All healthy bats try to avoid humans by taking flight and are not purposely aggressive. Most bats are about the size of a mouse and use their small teeth and weak jaws to grind up insects. You should avoid handling bats because several species, such as the hoary and big brown bats, have large teeth that can puncture skin if they are handled improperly. Less than one percent of the bat population...
Do vampire bats really exist?
Yes, but not in most of the United States. Of the three species of vampire bats in North America, only a single specimen has been recorded for the United States in extreme southwest Texas. Vampire bats do not suck blood--they make a small incision with their sharp front teeth and lap up the blood with their tongue. Vampire bats in Mexico and South America feed on the blood of livestock such as...
How are bats affected by wind turbines?
Dead bats are found beneath wind turbines all over the world. It’s estimated that tens to hundreds of thousands die at wind turbines each year in North America alone. Unfortunately, it’s not yet clear why this is happening. It’s possible that wind turbines interfere with seasonal migration and mating patterns in some species of bats. More than three quarters of the bat fatalities at wind turbines...
What do bats eat?
Bats are the most significant predators of night-flying insects. There are at least 40 different kinds of bats in the U.S. that eat nothing but insects. A single little brown bat, which has a body no bigger than an adult human’s thumb, can eat 4 to 8 grams (the weight of about a grape or two) of insects each night. Although this may not sound like much, it adds up—the loss of the one million bats...
What should I do if I find dead or dying bats, or if I observe bats with signs of White-nose Syndrome?
If you find a dead or dying bat: Contact your state wildlife agency , file an electronic report in those states that offer this service, e-mail U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in your area or contact your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service field office to report your potential White-nose Syndrome (WNS) observations. It is important to determine the species of bat in case it is a federally...
Why are bats important?
By eating insects, bats save U.S. agriculture billions of dollars per year in pest control. Some studies have estimated that service to be worth over 3.7 billion dollars per year, and possibly as much as 53 billion dollars per year. This value does not, however, take into account the volume of insects eaten by bats in forest ecosystems and the degree to which that benefits industries like lumber...
Bat box
A bat box, photographed as part of NABat fieldwork in 2024.
A bat box, photographed as part of NABat fieldwork in 2024.
PubTalk 09/2019 — Bats in the West
Title: Bats in the West: Discoveries, Questions, and Future Research
By Gabriel A. Reyes, USGS Biologist
Title: Bats in the West: Discoveries, Questions, and Future Research
By Gabriel A. Reyes, USGS Biologist
Hibernating little brown bat
A little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome hibernating in a Virginia cave during late spring of 2016.
A little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome hibernating in a Virginia cave during late spring of 2016.
Colony of bats.
Bats benefit from maintaining a close-knit roosting group because they increase reproductive success and it is important for rearing pups.
Bats benefit from maintaining a close-knit roosting group because they increase reproductive success and it is important for rearing pups.
Bat Thermal Video
Imagery from temperature-sensing cameras showing bats in hibernation. This new footage suggests that bats who warm up from hibernation together throughout the winter may be better at surviving white nose syndrome, a disease caused by a cold-loving fungus ravaging insect-eating bat populations in the United States and Canada.
Imagery from temperature-sensing cameras showing bats in hibernation. This new footage suggests that bats who warm up from hibernation together throughout the winter may be better at surviving white nose syndrome, a disease caused by a cold-loving fungus ravaging insect-eating bat populations in the United States and Canada.
Bat emergence, Paul Cryan, USGS photo.
Mexican free-tailed bats that emerged from Bracken Cave in Texas fly among the trees in the early evening sky.
Mexican free-tailed bats that emerged from Bracken Cave in Texas fly among the trees in the early evening sky.
Lava tube opening/possible bat roost with pine forest above.
Opening of a large lava tube at El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico and likely roost for bats, 2011.
Opening of a large lava tube at El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico and likely roost for bats, 2011.
Roosting Bats
A group of Rafinesque big-eared bats (and one southeastern myotis) found roosting in a bridge. Photo by Andrea Schuhmann (USGS).
A group of Rafinesque big-eared bats (and one southeastern myotis) found roosting in a bridge. Photo by Andrea Schuhmann (USGS).
Beyond Billions: Threatened Bats are Worth Billions to Agriculture
Insect-eating bats provide pest-control services that save the U.S. agriculture industry over $3 billion per year, according to a study released today in the journal Science. However, scientists with the U.S.
Insect-eating bats provide pest-control services that save the U.S. agriculture industry over $3 billion per year, according to a study released today in the journal Science. However, scientists with the U.S.
Scientist at Bat Cave
USGS wildlife disease specialist Kim Miller outside of an abandoned mine where bats hibernate in New York.
USGS wildlife disease specialist Kim Miller outside of an abandoned mine where bats hibernate in New York.
Bat with Radio Transmitter
USGS biologist Paul Cryan releases a bat carrying a miniature radio transmitter. Researchers are increasingly turning to high-tech methods to try to learn more about the mysterious lives of bats.
USGS biologist Paul Cryan releases a bat carrying a miniature radio transmitter. Researchers are increasingly turning to high-tech methods to try to learn more about the mysterious lives of bats.