It lives in wooded areas of the U.S. and Canada and migrates south to central and southern states where it hibernates in rock crevices and tree hollows. It feeds in forest openings and along edges, apparently on a wide variety of insects. The red bat is a solitary species found most often in deciduous tree foliage during the summer. It migrates south to the central and southern states where it probably hibernates in tree hollows. It is often overlooked because it can appear, at quick glance, to be a dead leaf.
Red bats are early fliers in the evening but are much faster in flight than pips.
They are rarely seen far from forested areas, and moths are their preferred food. Triplets and even quadruplets are not uncommon. One of the largest bats in the U.S. and the most widely distributed, this species has dark-yellowish fur tipped with white, which gives it its name. It is more common in the prairie states than in eastern U.S. and roosts in tree foliage, but mostly in evergreens. Like the red bat, it eats moths.