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I love Bats!
🌻 Our nocturnal pollinators and seed distributers 🌻
Most people associate pollination with bees and birds but often forget
the work of their furry colleagues: bats. Bats take the night shift,
playing a major role in pollinating crops and spreading seeds. One
important bat is the Mexican long-nose bat, which dwells in large
colonies. Their range includes the southern parts of Texas, California,
New Mexico and Arizona. Throughout time, plants and mammals have shared
a dependency on one another that is mutually beneficial. So naturally,
these bats feed on flowers, including those of valuable commercial
crops, like figs, dates, mangoes and peaches, which have flowers that
only open at night. These mammal pollinators are finicky eaters with a
specific palate. Dining on plant pollen and drinking sweet nectar is a
delicacy at its batty-best. They tend to enjoy a flower that’s mild in
scent and not bright in color. Simply speaking, white or pale crop
flowers attract the night pollinators to feed on them. Mexican long-nose
bats can fly extensive distances to gather nectar from specific plants.
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