The upper parts of the cave nectar bat are grey-brown to dark brown to black.

E. spelaea travels many kilometres each night in search of the nectar of flowering trees and shrubs.

[7] For this reason, E. spelaea is seen as an important species for pollination in disturbed areas bordering on urban and agricultural farms.

E. spelaea lives in Bangladesh,[8] Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia (Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi and some other small islands), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, India and Timor-Leste.

Recent evidence has shown this species can carry multiple viruses such as filoviruses,[16][17] coronaviruses,[18] astrovirus,[19] picornavirus,[20] lyssavirus,[21] pteropine orthoreovirus[22] and flavivirus,[23] all without obvious signs of disease.