Do bats pollinate tequila plants?
The lesser long-nosed bat helps to pollinate agave plants. Bats play such a crucial role in agave pollination that many tequila brands now market themselves as being bat-friendly tequila. That said, there are also tequila producers that cultivate in ways that specifically recognize bats’ role in the whole process.
What do lesser long-nosed bats pollinate?
Lesser long-nosed bats are perfectly adapted to feed and pollinate Saguaros and other large Southwestern and Mexican succulents such as Organ-pipe Cactus (Stenocereus thurberi), agaves (Agave spp.) and Cardón (Pachycereus pringlei).
Do bats have anything to do with tequila?
The lesser long-nosed bat is the primary pollinator of blue agave, the plant that serves as the base ingredient in tequila. These bats feed on the nectar of agave flowers and carry the pollen to fertilize other plants.
How is tequila pollinated?
Tequila is made from Agave tequilana, a spiky, squat, blueish plant. It grows best in semi-arid soils, making it a great cash crop for marginal lands in Mexico. Agaves are chiropterophilous; a fancy way of saying they’re bat-pollinated. These plants and their pollinators have shaped each other through coevolution.
What pollinates the agave plant?
These bats (Genus Leptonycteris) are the main pollinators of Century Plants (Agave sp.), and the tequila is obtained through distillation of juices from agaves.
Do bats fertilize agave?
The Agave plant and the Saguaro, state cactus of Arizona, also depend upon bats for pollination. The agave is an important plant because it is used to make tequila. To learn more about bats and bat pollination, visit Bat Conservation International’s website. Mexican Long-Tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana).
What animal is responsible for tequila?
If you like tequila—you owe it to the bats. Lesser long-nosed bats pollinate several plants, including agave, the single plant species from which Mexican tequila is produced.
What plants do bats pollinate?
Saguaros, agave, cocoa, bananas, mangoes, guavas, and eucalyptus all rely on pollination from bats. Don’t worry about them getting intoxicated though – bats feed on the nectar of the agave plant, not the fermented agave that becomes tequila.
What tequila brands are bat friendly?
So, where can you get this bat-friendly tequila? Well, don’t look for it from the likes of Jose Cuervo and Patrón. Instead seek out small-batch producers like Siete Leguas, Tequila Tapatio, and Tequila Cascahuín.
What type of bat pollinates agave?
Mexican long-tongued bat
The Mexican long-tongued bat is one of the species that pollinates agave, but its ecosystem is being disrupted by large-scale, cheaper methods of making tequila. At a Halloween happy hour recently in Washington, D.C., a small crowd gathered to celebrate the relationship between bats and spirits.
Which tequila is bat friendly?
What flowers are pollinated by bats?
Other flowering plants that attract and/or are pollinated by bats include:
- Night-blooming phlox.
- Evening primrose.
- Fleabane.
- Moonflowers.
- Goldenrod.
- Nicotiana.
- Honeysuckle.
- Four o’clocks.
Who pollinates the agave plant?
bats
These bats (Genus Leptonycteris) are the main pollinators of Century Plants (Agave sp.), and the tequila is obtained through distillation of juices from agaves.
Do bats pollinate agave?
Why do bats pollinate agave?
The bats rely on agave nectar to fuel their return trip, and the agaves depend on the bats to cross-pollinate their flowers so they can produce seeds. (Agaves evolved to supply most of their nectar after dark to attract the nocturnal fliers.)
What agave plant makes tequila?
blue agave
The juice of the blue agave, cultivated primarily in the state of Jalisco, is used to make tequila; other agave species are used to make mezcal, bacanora, sotol, and pulque. There are more than 300 agave species. An agave plant takes eight to 12 years to mature. The plant has a bulbous body called a pina.
Can bats pollinate the flowers pollinated by bees?
The birds and the bees may rule the daytime, but as soon as the sun sets, it is the bats that get to work pollinating. Worldwide, over 500 species of flowers in at least 67 plant families rely on bats as their major or exclusive pollinators.
What fruits are pollinated by bats?
Bats pollinate some of your favorite foods almost exclusively! Saguaros, agave, cocoa, bananas, mangoes, guavas, and eucalyptus all rely on pollination from bats. Don’t worry about them getting intoxicated though – bats feed on the nectar of the agave plant, not the fermented agave that becomes tequila.