The Common Pipistrelle is an ecologically flexible species recorded in a broad range of habitats, including farmland, urban areas, rivers and lakes, and forest, where it often hunts along forest edges. The Common Pipistrelle may exploit streetlamps, yet contrasting evidence is available on whether artificial illumination favours or, at least locally, affects adversely this species. Roosts are commonly found in narrow spaces of buildings, yet rock crevices and caves may also be used (particularly when hibernating). Very large (up to 70,000 individuals) winter colonies have been found in caves of Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (reviewed in Mathews et al. 2022). The diet mostly consists of nematoceran dipterans, but may also include Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Trichoptera, Hymenoptera, and Opiliones (Barlow 1997, Mathews et al. 2022).

There is no evidence of seasonal migration, partly because the available data obtained from ringing campaigns predate the splitting between P. pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus (Mathews et al. 2022), which also holds for the longest distance covered - 1,123 km from Ukraine to Bulgaria (Hutterer et al. 2005). Based on current knowledge, the species is deemed to be sedentary (Hutterer et al. 2005).

A widespread and locally abundant species, the Common Pipistrelle, in Europe, occurs from Iberia, the British Isles and southern Scandinavia through central and southern Europe, including the whole Mediterranean, east to Ukraine and the Russian Federation (Mathews et al. 2022). The range of altitudes where this species can be found varies between 0 and 2,000 m asl. The AOO and EOO have not been estimated, but based on the available locality records, they are expected to greatly exceed the threshold for a threatened category.

This is a western Palearctic species whose global range spans from much of Europe to the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb, extending to western Asia through Central Asia and China (reviewed in Mathews et al. 2022).

It is protected by national legislation in most of the main range states. There are also international legal obligations for its protection through the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and EUROBATS Agreement. It is included in Appendix III of the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention). Also included in Annex IV of the EU Habitats and Species Directive. Important habitats are partially protected by Natura 2000 sites and national networks of protected areas. Roost protection, reduction in pesticide spread as well as maintenance of traditional agricultural and semi-natural habitats are important to preserve this species. Mitigation of light pollution (particularly at drinking sites) and roadkill are also needed where these pose potentially serious risks.