What Bats Eat

About 70 percent of bat species, and nearly all U.S. bats, are insect eaters, and most of the insects they eat are considered human pests. In fact, bats are the most important predator of night-flying insects. Bats can consume up to half of their body weight in insects each night. Most insects are caught in flight. Bats catch some insects with their mouth, but they also use their tail or wing scoop them out of the air. Many tropical bats are fruit, pollen, or nectar eaters. These bats play an important role as pollinators and seed dispersers for the plants they visit. A few bats eat fish, rodents, birds, or other bats. There are only three species of the famous vampire or blood-eating bats, and all are found in Central and South America.