There are almost a thousand different kinds of bats comprising nearly a quarter of all mammal species. A single little brown bat can catch 1200 mosquitoes, moths, and other insects in one hour. Pallid bats are immune to stings of scorpions and centipedes on which they feed. Bats can hear footsteps of walking insects and use echolocation to detect objects as fine as human hair. Bats are important pollinators and disperse seed for many agricultural plants including bananas, breadfruit, mangoes, cashews, dates and figs.
Bats also are pollinators of agave plants from which tequila is produced.
Bat droppings in caves support entire ecosystems of unique organisms.