Bats – Chiroptera

Bats (Chiroptera) are a large mammal order rich in species. In the world, there are about 200 genera of bats and about 1200 species are known. It means that about every fourth mammal species is a bat. The bat families include, among others, the Old World fruit bats (Pteropodidae), vesper/evening bats (Vespertilionidae), false-vampires (Megadermatidae), New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae), and free-tailed bats (Molossidae).

In Finland, 13 species have been met, th emost common ones are northern bat, also known as northern serotine (Eptesicus nilssonii), Daubenton's myotis (Myotis daubentonii), whiskered bat, also known as whiskered myotis or common whiskered bat (M. mystacinus), Brandt's myotis (M. brandtii) ja brown big-eared bat, also known as brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus)

Bats are nocturnal animals and mainly they feed on insects. Some of the bats also eat fruit, nectar and pollen, and a few species feed on the blood of other mammals. The bats in Finland only feed on insects and spiders.