What Do Bats Eat?
What a bat eats depends on the species. 60-70% of bats feed on insects, beetles, and gnats. Some bat species eat fruit, nectar, and pollen. And a few bat species are carnivores feeding on rodents, frogs, birds, and fish.
Insectivorous Bats
Insectivorous bats eat insects. Nearly 70% of all bat species are insectivores, feeding primarily on insects. [[Arizona State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences – Cooperative Extension – “Bats“]] In the United States alone, of the 49 bat species, 45 are insectivores. [[United States Geological Survey (USGS) – “Ecology of Insect-eating Bats“]]
Bats feed at night, so nearly any insect that flies at night is prey for these nocturnal predators. Bats will eat gnats, mayflies, moths, crickets, beetles, flies, and even wasps. Mosquitoes are a favorite making the bat an important ally to humans. One bat can devour 1,200 mosquitoes in an hour, playing an important role in regulating insect populations. [Nature.com – “10 Fun Bat Facts“]
How Do Insectivorous Bats Capture Their Prey?
Bats use various methods to capture their prey depending on the size of the prey and the species. Most smaller insects are simply eaten right out of the air. Larger flying insects are pulled in by the wing and dropped into the interfemoral membrane (also called the uropatagium), the flap of skin between the legs used for flight and food captivity. Larger insects commonly found on the ground, such as grasshoppers and beetles, are frequently snatched up by the bat’s feet. [[Smithsonian Institution – “Bat Facts“]]
Insectivorous Bat Species Examples
The National Park Service lists the following as insectivorous bat species in Arizona:
- Big brown bat
- California leaf-nosed bat
- California myotis bat
- Cave myotis bat
- Fringed myotis bat
- Hoary bat
- Long-legged myotis bat
- Mexican free-tailed bat
- Pallid bat
- Pocketed free-tailed bat
- Silver-haired bat
- Southwestern myotis bat
- Townsend’s bit-eared bat
- Western pipistrelle bat
- Western red bat
- Western small-footed myotis bat
- Yuma myotis bat
Photos of all of the above insectivorous bats.
Carnivorous Bats
Carnivorous bats eat meat. Less than one percent of all bat species are carnivorous. Depending on the species, they eat a variety of vertebrates, including rodents, birds, fish, frogs, a variety of arthropods, and even blood. [[French, Barbara. “False Vampires and Other Carnivores.” BATS Magazine 15.2 (1997): 1. Print.]]
Rodents etc. The false vampire bat is one example of a carnivorous species. These bats feed on everything from rodents, frogs, fish, lizards, insects, spiders, and birds. Some species even eat other bats.
Frogs. Another carnivorous bat is the frog-eating bat, which has the ability to discriminate between frog calls to distinguish poisonous from non-poisonous species. These bats can consume up to 40 frogs in one evening.
Fish. Some bat varieties are specialized fishers. They float over the top of the water and use their echolocation to find fish near the surface, which they grab with their sharp claws.
Blood. The intimidating in appearance vampire bat is the only mammal that feeds only on blood. These nocturnal feeders prey primarily on cows and horses but have been known to feed on humans. Unlike the theatrical vampires, these bats don’t drink enough blood to harm their victims, but their bite can result in disease and infection.
How Do Carnivorous Bats Capture Their Prey?
Scientists have discovered that carnivorous bats are bigger than non-meat-eating bats. They also tend to have longer snouts that provide the ability to quickly close the jaw to snap down on fleeing prey quickly. [[Phys.org – “Study Reveals Traits and Evolutionary History of Carnivorous Bats“]]
Vegetarian Bats
Some species of bats, such as the fruit bat, eat fruits, nectar, and pollen and are an important part of the pollination and seed dispersal of their food source. [[United States Geological Survey (USGS) – “What Do Bats Eat?“]]
Bats Feed at Night
Bats sleep during the day and emerge at night to feed. They generally begin to stir as dusk sets in and will emerge after dark to feed. They will feed for a few hours and then return to the roost for rest. Many will reemerge for a second feeding before daybreak. [[Smithsonian Institution – “Bat Facts“]]
