This species roosts during the day in deep recesses of hot caves, where it form roosting aggregations containing thousands of individuals (Gannon et al. 2005, Genoways et al. 2005). An estimate of 140,000 bats of this species roosts in Cucaracha Cave, Puerto Rico (Gannon et al. 2005). A cave occupied by this bat usually shelters two to five other species. It is insectivorous, and apparently is an opportunistic forager to some degree, like many insectivorous bats. Insects from one to seven different orders have been found in stomach or faecal samples of a single bat; moths, flies, and true bugs are taken consistently as well, and wasps and flying ants, which occur in large but unpredictable swarms, are eaten when available. Females generally give birth to a single young; twinning is extremely rare. Pregnant females are found from February through June, with the largest percentage occurring in May, when births begin (Silva-Taboada 1979, Gannon et al. 2005).

This species is known from Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico (Simmons 2005). Extinct from the Bahamas (Morgan 2001).

The species is found in protected areas.