What US state has the most bats?

Determining which US state has the most bats depends on how you measure, by number of species or total population, but Texas is generally considered the state with the most bats by both diversity and sheer numbers. Texas is home to 32 to 33 species of bats, the highest diversity of any state, due to its large size, varied habitats including deserts, forests, and caves, and warm climate that supports year-round insect activity and large insect populations. Texas also hosts the largest bat colonies in the world, including Bracken Cave near San Antonio, which houses around 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats during summer, making it the largest bat colony and one of the largest mammal colonies on Earth. Other large colonies are in Texas like Frio Cave and many bridges in Austin, including the famous Congress Avenue Bridge with 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats. Other states with many bats include California, Arizona, and New Mexico which also have high species diversity due to warm climates and many caves, and states like Pennsylvania and New York have large little brown bat populations though white-nose syndrome has reduced them. However, because of Bracken Cave and its massive Mexican free-tailed bat population plus high species diversity, Texas is widely cited as the state with the most bats in the United States both in terms of numbers and species.