More than 40 species of bats live in the United States. Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Instead of arms or hands, they have wings. The wings have a bone structure similar to the human hand. Between the bones are flaps of skin. Bats are very light weight to make it easier for them to fly.
Bats have fur on their bodies, sometimes including their head. Their wings, however, do not have fur. Bats can be a range of colors, including red, tan, brown, and gray. A bat's ears are very important because bats use them to hunt for food. The ears tend to be large and noticeable, many times sticking up on the side of the head.
The majority of bats in the United States are insectivores. They hunt at night and eat flying insects such as mosquitoes, beetles, and moths, many of which are considered pests. Bats provide an important ecological service by eating tons of insects.
Not all bats eat insects. Some live on a diet of nectar and fruit. Bats that feed on nectar also serve as pollinators to nighttime blooming plants. To attract these flying mammals, flowering plants have evolved a musty or rotten perfume. The smell is created by Sulphur-containing compounds, which are uncommon in most floral aromas, but have been found in the flowers of many plant species that specialize in bat pollination.
Bats are mainly nocturnal, most often flying at dawn and dusk. They fly very quickly and can make fast maneuvers. Bats congregate in large roosts during their winter hibernation and migration. In the fall and winter months, many species breed so that the offspring are born in the late spring. The births are timed with the return of insect prey.
Bats can have more than one offspring at a time. The babies are born hairless, blind, and without the ability to fly. They are completely dependent on their mother. However, it only takes a few weeks for the young bats to develop and start to fly. Despite being small, bats can have a relatively long lifespan. Bats that make it to adulthood can live into their teens; a rare few into their twenties. The hard part is making it to adulthood, because there is a high mortality rate for young bats.
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