In summer it roosts in deciduous and coniferous trees, buildings or bat boxes close to its feeding habitats.

Its range extends from southern Sweden, Finland and western Russia in the north to Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal to the west.

It extends eastwards to Ukraine, western and southwestern Asia Minor, the Levant, the Caucasus region, the Kopet Dag Mountains in Turkmenistan, Iran and northern Kazakhstan.

[14] During a study of the bat's diet, examination of droppings showed that it can also gather prey items from the ground.

The diet was found mostly to consist of large Diptera (flies) but Trichoptera (caddisfly), Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants and hoverflies) and Arachnida (spiders and harvestmen) were also commonly eaten.

The remains of other prey items occasionally found in the droppings included Lepidoptera (moths), Coleoptera (beetles), Hemiptera (bugs), Dermaptera (earwigs) and Chilopoda (centipedes).

[16] It has been shown that it can land on the ground to pick up and pursue invertebrates that are active at night, and continues to emit search signals in order to locate them precisely.

After fertilisation, a female normally gives birth to a single offspring after a gestation period of fifty to sixty days, but twins sometimes occur.

The IUCN does note however that in some parts of its range woodlands are under threat and land management practices are changing.