Bumblebee Bat Facts
- Bumblebee bats are distinguished from other bats by their small size, lack of a tail and a distinctive swollen, upturned nose, which resembles that of a pig. These bats are gray or a ruddy brown in color, normally with lighter fur on their undersides.
- Not only are bumblebee bats the smallest bat, but they are also the world's smallest mammal. The body of a bumblebee bat measures just over 1 inch in length, with a wingspan of nearly 7 inches. They weigh just 2 grams.
- Bumblebee bats roost in limestone caves in remote deciduous or evergreen forests of Sai Yok National Park in Thailand, and Myanmar.
- Bumblebee bats are exclusively insectivorous, consuming insects in flight or gleaning them from leaves.
- The popular name of bumblebee bats comes from the fact that they are roughly the size of a large bumblebee. Their more formal name--Kitti's hog nosed bat--comes from the Thai scientist who discovered the species, Kitti Thonglongya.