Nyctalus

a genus of mammals of the family of common bats (Vespertilionidae). There are six species, inhabiting leaf-bearing forests of Eurasia (in the south, including the Malay Peninsula). They live in colonies in the hollows of trees and fly out to feed soon after sunrise, feeding mainly on beetles (the cockchafer and others). The females usually give birth to two young. There are three species found in the USSR—the hairy-armed bat or lesser noctule (N. leisleri), in the central and southern part of the European USSR and in the Caucasus; the giant noctule (N. lasiopterus), in the central and southern regions of the European USSR and in the northeastern Caucasus; and the common noctule (N. noctula), which lives in the European USSR, the Caucasus, the Tien-Shan, and east to the Altai.