The bat, having at least doubled its weight since spring, will either hibernate or migrate. Some bat migrations are known to cover as much as 1,000 miles. By late fall, one way or another , the bat has accumulated a layer of fat that will sustain it either through a winter's sleep or a marathon migration flight. Some species of bats prefer to live alone in trees. Other species, live in groups called colonies and are likely to inhabit caves.
Tropical bats make homes everywhere from banana leaves to spider webs.
Nearly all bats that live in the United States feed on insects. As it flits about, the bat gathers insects in its open mouth or in its tail membrane, which it controls like a scoop. In the course of one night's hunting a bat may consume more than half its own body weight in insects. Bats consume many hundreds of thousands of tons of insects each year. As it flies across open water, the bat swoops low and dredges up water in its dangling lower jaw.