Batfly

Batflies are passive flying creatures that resemble bats. They are passive creatures and are typically one of the s' main sources of food.

Abilities & Behavior
Batflies are one of the most ubiquitous creatures in the game, appearing in all but one region.

Batflies are mostly found on rooms called swarm rooms, these rooms feature white-tipped plants which function like Batfly exclusive pipes. When they sense a threat, they attempt to dive and burrow into one, then reemerge from another, farther plant in the same room. Swarms often leave one these rooms if a large number of them are eaten during a cycle and migrate to another swarm room in the region. They will also randomly migrate from swarm room to swarm room as a cycle progresses, giving an opportunity for predators to hunt them without going inside a swarm room.

Batflies can hang upside down from ceilings, poles, and even each other, forming stacks. If a Batfly with others attached to it from below starts flying, the attached Batflies may not separate, and it can end up struggling to fly. If Slugcat grabs a Batfly attached to a chain, the entire chain is picked up until the other Batflies fly away. This can result in strange physics if the Batflies are still attached to the ceiling.

Relationships

 * -|Vanilla=


 * -|Downpour=

Strategy
Though Batflies are often wary of the player, they are usually rather lethargic in their evasion, and can be caught easily by simply jumping towards them and grabbing. Batflies are easier to catch if you are above them — they have a simple flight pattern and hover in a single spot for a few seconds, which is the perfect time to pounce. They can also be hunted from afar by hitting them with or s, killing them and causing them to fall to the ground. It should be noted that Batflies cannot be stored in a shelter for later consumption, and thus must be eaten within the same cycle. Batflies are attracted to, which can be used to lure Batflies over to the player where they can be more easily caught. Batflies can be used to distract certain creatures, such as s and, by catching a Batfly quickly and throwing it into the range of the plant. If the player grabs a Batfly with multiple others attached to it, they may have a small delay before detaching from the stack, which can be useful to gather large quantities of Batflies. Batflies often burrow into the white-tipped plants as shelter, so it is recommended to crouch down in a corner until Batflies emerge from the plants. It can also be taken advantage of by standing on top of the grass, allowing Batflies to fall into your hands. Like with other food types, if there is no time to stop and eat, Batflies can be carried into a shelter, where they are eaten automatically on hibernation.

Trivia

 * Most creatures in the game ignore them; however, s,, s, and  actively hunt them.
 * Batflies can be eaten by s, making it relatively easy to tame them by feeding them Batflies.
 * Despite being counted as meat and counting towards achievement, they are only worth ¼ a pip of food to the.
 * Batflies are one of the few creatures in the game with no individual variation.
 * Batflies were initially intended to be the only source of food for the player, but this was later changed as it limited the kinds of regions the devs could make.
 * Early concept art of the batfly.