Most of the bat population is found in the tropics, with one-third of the total bat population in the world being found in South and Central America. Microbats are nocturnal and feed on insects, some species ingesting over 400 mosquitoes each per night. They are the suborder Megachiroptera, family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats).. One such example, the little brown bat, is the most common species of bat in Canada and hunts its tiny prey while in flight. Megabats are also called Old World fruit bats. Why are microbats important? As you might have already guessed, megabats are much bigger than microbats (some species approach two pounds); these flying mammals live only in Africa and Eurasia and are exclusively "frugivorous" or "nectivorous," meaning they eat only fruit or the nectar of flowers. In Australia there are many species of microbats ranging from the carnivorous ghost bat, the largest, weighing up to 150 grams, to tiny forest bats weighing 3 grams. All megabats belong to the same family called Pteropodidae, or fruit bats. The island country of Indonesia is a home for about 175 species of bats. Microbats: The prefix 'micro' means 'tiny.' Foraging for Food Mega-Bats. Micro bats are nocturnal, and rely on echolocation and, to a lesser extent, eyesight, to find their way and locate insects at night.. Echolocation is a technique used by bats to ‘see’ their environment through sound. Bat Species. Some species are cave dwellers, some are tree hollow dwellers, many occupy rock and wood crevices and some even roost in disused bird nests. Question: What do microbats eat? Fruit bats are sometimes known as flying foxes. On the other hand, several tropical species of flowering plant, such as the African baobab tree and the Australian ironwood, rely on fruitbats to pollinate them.Fruitbats also disperse plant seeds to new places and habitats. They will often be there for only part of the year as they travel in search of food or for mating purposes. Insect-Eating Bats. Most of the bats in the world. The two main types of bats are the megabats and the microbats. Flying-foxes have a highly adapted palate and tongue that enables them to only eat the bits of food they need to survive – the juice and pollen. They feed on fruit, nectar, and pollen. How do they see in the dark? where they live. Fact Sheet - Microbats (sub-order Microchiroptera) Bats from this group are found on all continents across the world except Antarctica. The various species of Microbats live in different types of day time roosts. Bats that live in your roof don’t do any harm. Fruit bats and microbats have some important things in common: They are the only mammals that can fly. Any time you see 'micro' in a word, you can be sure you are dealing with things that are very small. The over 1,000 species of bats across the world are divided into two families, megabats and microbats. These fruit bats are flying mammals that live in dense forests in Africa, Europe, Australia, and Asia.There are about 166 species of fruit bats. In northern locales of the world, such as in the United Kingdom, bats consume diets consisting primarily of insects.In fact, 70% of the world's bats are insect eaters. The other major group of bats, the Microchiroptera or microbats, is quite ecologically diverse. Fruit bats are social animals, and many hundreds may gather in trees, known as roost trees, during the day to rest and groom. With their giant wingspans, flying foxes are the world's biggest bats. Megabats are large, mainly fruit-eating bats. Species of bats • The world’s smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat, weighing about as much as a penny • The Flying Fox, with a wingspan of 78 inches, is the world’s largest bat • There are over 1100 different species of bats – they make up one fifth of the world’s mammals • 47 Species of bat in the United States • 13 species of bat in Idaho