Identification
They have very large ears and have a flat projection on the muzzle that often resembles a leaf.
Because these bats echolocate nasally, this “nose-leaf” is thought to serve some role in modifying and directing the echolocation call.
Usually brown, grey, or black: 1.6 to 5.3 inch in head-body length; 0.25 to 7.05 oz
Habitat
Found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina
Range from forests to deserts
Nesting
Most roost in fairly small groups within caves, animal burrows, or hollow trees, but some live in colonies with thousands
Behavior
They do not hibernate or migrate.
Offspring
Become pregnant in the fall. The baby develops slowly over the winter, followed by a normal three-and-a-half-month period of rapid development in spring. In May or June, each mother produces a single pup, which she nurses for about a month. Pups are born with eyes and ears open and a body that is already furred.
The average lifespan of a leaf-nosed bat is 20-30 years in the wild.
Predators
Owls, snakes, coyotes, feral cats, and raccoons.
Diet
Various insects such as crickets, some beetles, grasshoppers, katydids, June beetles, diving beetles; sphinx, and other types of moths. They will capture prey either in flight or off foliage or the ground. They are the only bats in North America known to catch caterpillars and are among the very few insect-eating bats that supplement their diets with cactus fruit.
Fun Facts
This species cannot crawl on thumbs and toes like most bats.
Their hearing is so good that they can hear the footsteps of a cricket.