It may surprise you to know there are 1,400 species of bats—they make up 20% of all mammal species.

They have wingspans ranging from 6 in to 5 ft and occupy dozens of environmental niches.

Some are specialized to eat fish. Tiny vampire bats drink blood (usually from sleeping livestock, without harming them).

But the most important bats, to humans anyway, are those that eat insects, providing up to $50 billion worth of free pest control for our agriculture every year.

They also eat mosquitoes that spread disease. A single bat can eat thousands of mosquitoes a night.

Fruit- and nectar-eating bats are important pollinators for hundreds of plant species, including many that humans eat. And scientists are finding other reasons to like bats.

As they age, bats produce more mRNA to counteract degradation in their cells. Perhaps this is why bats live four times longer than similar-sized animals, and longer than humans when adjusted for size. Their resilient aging traits may help researchers find ways to improve our own aging.

Bats have gotten a bad rap lately for viruses spilling over into human populations. But epidemiologists don’t blame this on the bats, instead on habitat destruction and wildlife markets.

Ironically, bats are largely unaffected by viruses. By studying their immune response, we may learn more about how humans can battle all viruses.