They sometimes fly into a house, prompting a call for a broom or a fishing net. They usually hibernate in caves in winter. The number and arrangement of bones in a bat's wing are the same as those of the human arm and hand. Bats are clean, shy and intelligent creatures. They occupy almost every habitat worldwide and are the primary predator of many insect pests that cause millions of dollars of damage to farms and forests annually.
Pink forearms distinguish eastern pipistrelles, the most common Missouri cave bat.
The red bat perches in trees. Bats of the World There are almost 1,000 different kinds of bats, which comprise nearly one-quarter of all mammal species. Worldwide, bats vary in size from only slightly more than 2 grams to more than 2 pounds. The largest bats are called flying foxes and have a wing span up to 6 feet. Flying foxes live in southern Africa, India, islands of the South Pacific and northern Australia.